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ittltaMk
A
NEW ELUCIDATION
OF
THE PRINCIPLES OF SPEECH
AND
ELOCUTION ;
A FULL THEORETICAL DEVELOPMENT,
WITH NUMEROUS
PRACTICAL EXERCISES,
FOR THE
CORRBCTION OF IMPRRFBCT, OR THE RRLIBF OF IMPEDED UTTERANCE,
AND FOB THE
GEXERAL IMPROVEMENT OF READING AND SPEAKING ;
TOE WHOLE FORMINO
A COMPLETE DIRECTORY FOR ARTICULATION,
AND
EXPRESSIVE, ORAL DELIVERY.
BY ALEXANDER MELVILLE BELI^
PROFESSOR OF ELOCUTION, ftc.
EDINBURGH :
PRINTED FOK THE AUTHOR ;
W. P. KENNEDY, ST ANDREW STREET ;
GLASGOW : D. BRYCE ; ABERDEEN : G. DAVIDSON ;
LONDON : HAMILTON, ADAMS, AND CO. ;
DUBLIN : J. M*GLA8HAN.
MDCCCXLIX.
«.NBt.„OH, PEJNTKO BT THORNTON * CO..UE.
«» 8T DAVID 8TREBT.
•t
''\
PREFACE.
The following Work was undertaken almost from necessity. In hb professional
practice, the Author daily felt the want of collected material to exemplify
principles, and to furnish pupils with the means of private exercise upon them.
When a defective articulation was to be corrected, a dialectic vowel-habit
anglicised, a cold and inexpressive) a monotonous or an extravagant deliveiy, to
be naturalized, it was by no means enough to point out the nature of the
error, and exemplify the mode of utterance to be substituted : habit was to be
overcome, and a new habit was to be cultivated to supplant the old. Per-
manent improvement could only be effected by continuous practice, for which
sufficient material could not be obtained without more labour than pupils can
generally bestow. Written ei^er^ises were necessarily brief, and too much was
left to private industry in collecting the means of improvement. Principles,
orally imparted, were, of necessity, too briefly explained in the very short
course to which Elocutionary inatmction is generally limited ; and the student's
memory could not be expected to retain them fully and with practicable cor-
rectness. It became^ therefore, necessary that a text-book of Principles and
Exerdses should be in his hand.
In the preparation of this Work, the Author has endeavoured to write — ^not
merely for the use of pupils, to whom a defective description in the book may
be orally supplemented in the class-room, but — ^for those to whom such addi-
tional instructiim is not, and can not be^ available. How far he has succeeded
in this, remains to be proved. He has studied to preserve the utmost simpli-
city of arrangement, and to avoid overloading principles by unnecessary rules.
He has not followed in the steps of any preceding writer, either as to his
Theory^ or his plan of developing it ; but he has observed Nature for himself,
and recorded his observations afier his own fashion. The science of Elocu-
tion seemed to him to want an A B G^ and he has endeavoured to supply the
deficiency.
Directions as to the mode of using the Book are not necessary in this place,
as these may be fully gathered from the body of the Work ; but a few general
observations on this subject may not be superfluous.
The theories of Respiration, of Voice, of Yowel Formation^ and of Inflexion,
should first be studied ; and the Exercises appended to each should be prac-
tically mastered. Any defect of Vowel Quality, or of Articulation must next
be perfected by special exercises on the defective elements. Then, the theory
of Articulation should be read^ and the exercises on Articulation, Quantity,
Accent, Rhythm, and Verbal Groupings, should be practised with the careful
Ti CONTENTS.
Quantity, - ...... page 6 1
Of Vowels — three primary degrees, - - - - 6 1
Of Articulations — (ive primary degrees, ... 62
Table of Elementary Quantities, .... 63
The Elements of Syllables, ..... 64
Table of Initial Articulate Combinations, ^ - - 66
Table of Terminational Syllabic Combinations of Breath Articulations, 67
« u « « Voice *' 68
« « »* « Mixed " 69
Quantitative Influence of Unaccented on Accented Syllables, - 70
Vowel Combinations. -....- 73
PART SECOND.
DICTIONARY OF ENGLISH SOUNDS.
Section First. — Vowels, 78
First Vowel— -Obseryations and Exercises, (including Directions for
the correction of dialectic and other peculiarities,) 79
Second ** <* ** " " <* ** 83
Third " «• u « « m t( gg
Fourth « " <* " *« «' « 89
Fifth ** " t* a *i u ({ 95
Sixth « " ♦• « <« " « 98
Serenth " <* " « « " " 100
Diphthong 7-1, " " " *' *' " 102
(( 7'\Sf " " « " •< " 104
Eighth Vowel, " «' « « *< *« 106
Ninth «* " " '* ** '* « 109
Tenth <« « ** « " *' " 113
Diphthong lO-l, «' " " «* '« " 118
Eleventh Vowel, « « « « '« « 119
Twelfth « " " " ** " " 121
Thirteenth «* " " ** " " " 125
The Aspirate— H, " *« « ** *' " 127
Sbotion Second Articulations, - - - - 130
P — Observations and Exercises, (including Directions for the
removal of Defects and Impediments of Articulation,) 132
« 136
" 138
" 142
« 143
147
<* 149
152
153
B,
tk
({
(C
«c
«
M,
it
«
(C
«
((
Wh,
it
«
((
((
«
w,
((
«
((
C(
«
F.
((
(C
((
«(
(t
V,
C(
«(
C(
«
((
Th(in),
kC
(<
((
<c
f(
Th(ia
').
«
((
C(
«
<(
s,
C(
((
a
<(
((
z,
(<
«
«
«
C(
R,
c<
((
((
((
«
L
<i
C(
(C
({
«
T,
((
i<
{(
«
c«
(C
« 161
« 16.1
167
171
CONTENTS. vii
D, — Obsenrations and Exercises, (including Directions for the
removal of Defects and Impediments of Articulation,) page 176
N, <* " <* <* « " 178
Sh, *« « '« '« " « 183
Zh, " *« *< " *« " 186
Y <( <( <( *< « *< Xg7
K, " «^ « " " «' 188
G, " « '' " " " 192
Ng, '« « ^' ** <' " 194
Articulativb Exercises.
Passages containing Double Articulations, - - • 1 96
« '< Difficult Combinations, - - - 197
*' " Alliterations and Difficult Sequences, . 197
** << Miscellaneous Difficulties, . - . goo
PART THIRD.
The Powers of the Letters, ..... 203
Illustrations of the fluctuating ralue of English letters, - 204
Table of the Sounds of the Vowel Marks, ... 205
'< « Silent Vowel Marks, - - - - 208
** '' the Marks of the Vowel Sounds, ... 2O8
*' ^ the Sounds of the Articulation Marks, - - 209
« « Silent Articulation Marks, - - - *- 211
'* *' the Marks of the Articulations, - . - 211
Notation of the Elements of Speech, .... 212
Phonotypes and Phonographs, - - - - 213
Reyiew of Mr Pitman's Phonographic Alphabet as a means of
accurate notation, • - - - . 214
Principles of a New Phonographic Scheme, . . 217
Alphabet of Articulation Marks, . - . 218
Articulate Combinations, - - . . 219
Alphabet of Vowel Marks, - ' - . . 220
Stenographic principle of Verbal Arrangement, - - 221
Examples of Full, and of Steno-phonographic Notation, 221
PART FOURTH.
Accent, — -.-.-._ 222
Accentual Change on Words of the same Orthography, - 223
Examples of Secondarily Accented Words, - - . 224
Table of Accents, ...... 227
Emphatic Accentuation, - . . . . 228
Rhythm, -.-.--., 229
Ist Stage of Rhythmical Grouping, with Examples, . 231
2d *< " ** «... 232
3d « *< *' « - - 234
4th <* « " " - - - 236
5th *« " " « . . 238
6th « " « "... 239
7th " '* « *' - - 241
Till
CONTENTS.
8th Stage of Rhythmical Grouping, with Examples,
9th ** «« '« «
loth « " « "
11th <* « *< *<
12th *» " " <<
Emphasis— -Effect of on Grouping, . . -
Emphatic Disjunctions,
page 244
246
247
249
26i
253
254
PART FIFTH.
Inflexion, --..--- 257
Oyer-estimate of by Modern Elocutionary Writers, - - 259
Mechanism of the Simple Inflexions, • - - 261
Notation « « *< « .... 262
Illustrations of the Mechanism of the Inflexions as applied to
Words of various Accentual Construction, - - 264
Extent of the Inflexions, ..... 266
Compound Inflexions, Circumflexes or Waves, - 269
Application of the Inflexions, - - -- - - 271
Review of Sentential Rules of Elocutionists, - 272
First Part of a Compact Sentence, - - - - 273
The Penultimate Member, ... - 274
Negative Sentences, - - - - - 275
Concessive Sentences, . ^ . - 276
The First Part of an Antithesis, - - - 276
Questions commencing with a Verb, - - - 276
Repetition or Echo, - ... - 277
lioose Sentences, ..... 278
Questions asked by Pronouns or Adverbs, • - 278
Final Pause or Period, ... - 280
Parenthesis, - - - - - -281
Elliptical Member, - - - .-- 281
Verb Questions of Two Parts connected by or, - - 282
Series, 282
Numeral Inflexions, . - - - - 283
Exercises for the AcquiRSMBNT op Vocal Flbxibtltty, - 2S5
Modulation, ...---- 287
Modulative Notation, .... - 288
Modulative and Emphatic Parsing, .... 289
Modulation and Inflexion of Principal and Subordinate Clauses, 290
Marked Illustrations.
Hamlet's Soliloquy on Death, - - - 291
The Power of Habit, 292
Close of a Good Life, .... 292
Miscellaneous Short Passages, .... 293
Force, Time, and Expression, .... 296
Notation of their leading varieties, - - - - 296
Recapitulative Table of the Marks Employed in the Notation of
Inflexion, Modulation, Force, Time, and Expression, - 299
Illustrative Passages Marked for Practice, - 300—311
THE
PRINCIPLES OF SPEECH
AND ELOCUTION.
PART FIRST.
THE ELEMENTS OF SPEECH.
Speech consists of variously modified emissions of breath.
The first modifying agent is the glottis; in passing through
which, the breath acquires a rustling, vibratory, or sonorous
quality, in proportion to the degree of vocalizing approximation of
the edges of the glottis.
When the glottis and the mouth are perfectly open, the breath
may be expelled, even forcibly, without audibility. When the
glottal aperture is somewhat contracted, the passage of the breath
is rendered faintly audible : this is the condition of the glottis
in whispering a vowel, or in the softer utterance of the letter H.
The glottis may be placed almost in the vocalizing position, and
that husky voice is produced which is the natural expression of
fear and of the dark passions ; and when the edges of the glottis are
braced to the clearly vocalizing point, the breath acquires that
beautiful sonorous quality which we call voice.
The breath, glottally modified in either of these ways, may be
further modified in its passage through the mouth, by the varied
shape and arrangement of the plastic organs of articulation, the
soft palate, the tongue, and the lips.
The varying shape of the mouth, with an uninterrupted central
channel for the issue of the breath, gives vowel quality to the
Inreath, whispered or vocalized; and the close approximation,
partial, or complete contact of its organs, gives arUculative effect
to the same voiceless or sonorous current of breath.
In the common analysis of speech, its elements have been divid-
ed into two grand classes, called Vowels and Consonants, The
B
10 THE ELEMENTS OF SPEECH.
former class is said to contain those elemental sounds which are
capable of being uttered alone ; and the latter, those which are
incapable of being pronounced without the aid of a vowel. This
is incorrect ; for, not only the vowels, but all the "consonants,"
may be perfectly sounded alone. The terms Vowel and Consonant,
therefore, thus understood, do not draw a clear line of distinction
between the two natural classes of elements, intended to be
designated ; and either some other nomenclature must be adopted,
or a definition of these terms received, which may effect the
object of the classification.
To remedy the inconvenience of definitions not generally ap-
plicable, numerous subdivisions have been made, and terms have
been multiplied ; and, as might be expected from so fundamental
an error, writers are not agreed as to which class certain
seemingly equivocal letters should belong. Y and W have been
by some writers declared to be consonants ; by others, vowels ;
by others, semi-consonants ; by others, both vowels and conson-
ants. We shall be careful to make our definitions of the difierent
classes into which we divide the elements as little liable to
exception as possible. It will be of importance if we can establish
a classifi(5ation which may be generally admitted.
Dr Rush, in his " PhUosophy of the Human Voice," has pro-
posed a mode of classification into " tonics," (vowels,) "sub-
tonics," (articulations with voice,) and "atonies," (voiceless
articulations.) But this does not show the grand leading and
most important division of the elements, intended to be ex-
pressed by the terms, Vowel and Consonant. It does not recognise
the difference between a position and an cictiony which this acute
author seems strangely to undervalue.
We have shown that the ordinary definition of the term Vowel,
would render that name equally applicable to all the elements of
'Speech ; and that the term Consonant, as generally defined, is
inapplicable to any one of them.
Writers have subdivided consonants into mutes, semi-mutes,
'emi-vowels, demi-semi-votoels, liquids, sharp letters, fiat letters,
soft, hard, Ac* ; but to most of the terms there has been no clear
meaning attached, and in their application there has been no little
inconsistency. The names jUxt and sharp, hard and soft, d^c. have
been applied by different persons to opposite classes of letters ;
and, — so little have they been made to convey any idea to the
THE ELEMENTS OF SPEECH. 11
mind, — we have heard the two former terms explained bj a public
lecturer to be *' just like sharps and flats in music/' to which,
except in name, thej have not a shadow of relation.
The most obvious difference among the elements of speech
obtains between those sounds which pass freely through the open
mouth, and those which are forced through hissing slits, or stopped
by organic conjun,Gtion. The former may as well be called
vowels as by any other name ; only let the term be correctly
defined, and the mere name is of little consequence. Those
utterances, then, which pass freely from the glottis through a
certain open conformation of the vocal canal, — ^unaffected by any
sound originating within the mouth, and independent on any
appulsive action of the mouth, — let us call Vowels. All other
elements of speech will be found to coincide in this, that their
audible effect is either wholly produced, or very greatly influenced
by the mouth ; and that an appulsive action of some part of the
mouth is necessary to their formation. Let us call them by a
term already in use, — Articulations.*
The Articulations are, on obvious principles, divisible into
subordinate classes. Some of them owe their audibility solely to
the mouth, to the action of the breath against the organs of
articulation. As these have no voice, they may be appropriately
called Breath articulations. All others will fall under the category
of Voice articulations.
The nature of the articulative actions gives reason for sub-
divisions of each of these classes. Those actions which alto-
gether stop the flow of breath or voice may be called obstructive,
or shut ; and those which do not, may be appropriately called
continuous; the latter being subdivided into close and open.
Thus, the letters B, D, G, are shut voice articulations, and P,
T, K, shut breath articulations. F, Wh, Th, S, Sh, are conti-
nuous breath articulations, and V, W, Th, Z, Zh, R, Y, L, M,
N, NG, are continuous voice articulations. Of these last, the
first 7 letters are close, and the remainder open. The reason for
making a distinction among the continuous voice articulations is,
* The word articulation has been sometimes applied to vowels, as well as
consonants, but its limitation to the latter class of elements is not only conve-
nient, but connect. The vowels are the materiel of speech, and the articulations
are the joints or hinges by whose motion the vowels proceed from the mouth,
and take their shape and duration.
12 THE ELEMENTS OF SPEECH.
that L, M, N, NG, are as purely vocal as any vowel ; the streain
of voice having a free channel, and suffering but little compression
and consequent deterioration in its passage. Indeed, but for the
distinct organic act%<m necessary to each of these letters, they
might be ranked among the vowels.
Our alphabet gives us 26 letters ; — 5 vowel, and 21 articulation
marks. Our language contains 13 nowel formations, and 24
varieties of articulation, besides the mark of aspiration H. A
perfect alphabet of English sounds would therefore contain not
less than 38 distinguishable simple characters. But, on a
principle which wiU be found explained in a subsequent chapter*
this number might be obtained from little more than 12 radically
distinct characters, — the remainder being produced from these
by uniform changes, to represent their uniformity of difference.
Not only is our alphabet deficient in the number of its charac-
ters ; it is also redundant, and is burdened with letters which do
not represent simple elements, but combinations. The inadequacy
of the vowel marks to represent our vowel sounds is most manifest.
We have no regular and consistent way of writing any one vowel.
Single letters represent diphthongs, and the utmost confusion of
diphthongal characters prevails in our ways of writing simple
vowel sounds. The alphabet gives us no characters by which to
represent six of our articulations — namely, Sh, Th(in), Th(is),
Zh, Wh, NG; and we are thus forced to the anomaly of
using digraphs to represent simple sounds, while there are
simple characters in the alphabet which represent double sounds :
it gives us three letters for one articulation, namely, G, K, Q,
(besides which we compound a fourth, Ch :) the letter C stands for
both K and S : and the letters J and X, each represent a combi-
nation of two actions ; the former letter being equivalent to d zh,
and the latter, — doing quadruple duty, — ^representing k s, and also
their vocal forms, g z.
The great inconvenience of this faulty alphabet has been long
felt ; and however easy it might be to propose a remedy, it would
not be so easy to get the most advantageous plan adopted. We
must content ourselves, in the meantime, with clearing away the
difficulties that have arisen from the want of a correct and generally
recognised principiation of our speech, and leave the reformation
of our orthography to be worked by a more thorough acquaintance
with its defects. But we fear that until some authoritative effort
THE VOICE., 13
be made, bj appointed dictators, as iu the Academies of France
and Spain, any general improvement in the representation of
our sounds will not be effected. We shall, however, have aided
the work if we succeed in classifying those sounds according to
their natural order ; and if our attempt to describe, popularly and
untechnically, the formations of the elements of speech, happily
prove successful, we shall have done something towards giving uni-
formity to our national utterance.
Before entering on an exposition of the vowel theory, it may be
useful to premise some observations on voice — the materiel of
the vowels.
VOICE.
The organ of Voice is placed beyond the reach of observation in
the living subject, and, consequently, has seldom been seen in
operation. Circumstances have, however, enabled some eminent
observers to see enough of its modes of action to ascertain analogies
between it and certain classes of musical instruments. It com-
bines the qualities of wind and stringed instruments, — sound
being produced by means of a current of air ; and alterations of
pitch being effected by elongation and contraction, with com-
parative slackness or tension of the vocalizing surfaces. All other
instruments of sound, however perfect in their kind, fall infinitely
short of the compact perfection of this wonderful apparatus;
which, within such a tiny space as mocks the art of man, unites
the various registers, and the swell, and thunder of the organ, —
monarch of the choir, — with the plaintive flexibility and minute
play of tone of the violin or Eolian harp.
We shall endeavour to elucidate some important vocal prin-
ciples, by reference to a simple little instrument, whose sonorous
vibrations are, in many respects, analogous to those of the human
lottis. This is the reed of the bagpipe drone. An experimental
sonifler of this kind may be constructed from a common quiU in
the following manner.
Remove from a new quill the feathered end, and the dry and
tough matter within and at the other end of the quill, so as to
leave only the brittle portion. Seal up one end of this tube with
wax, and cut a tongue in the side of it, beginning the slit near to
the wax, thus :
14 THE VOICE.
Intert tht tealtdmdy the vkole vtbrtUing length of the tongue , within the mouth.
With this instrament, the following principles may now be
exemplified.
If the slit, and consequently the tongue, be short, the sound
will be shrill and strained ; and, if the tongue be gradually
lengthened, the pitch of its note will become deeper and more
mellow with every increase.* So, the glottis, in producing high
tones, is contracted ; and in producing grave sounds, is elongated.
This may be sufficiently made matter of sensation, by gradually
running up the voice from its deepest to its highest notes ; and,
more especially, by running down its compass, from the shrill
falsetto to the lowest possible tones. There will be, in these
experiments, a distinct consciousness of the gradual contraction
and gradual enlargement of the glottal aperture.
If the tongue of the reed or quill project too much, so as to
create too open an aperture, the air will pass below the tongue
without setting it in vibration ; and, consequently, no sound will
be heard except that of the rushing of the air, more or less
audible, according to the degree of openness of the aperture, and
the force of the breath. This state of the reed is analogous to
that of the glottis, in whispering. Every gradation of sound,
*
from the softest breathing to the strongest sonorousness, may be
produced either with the reed or by the glottis.
If the tongue of the reed lie quite close to the sides of the
aperture, so as completely to cover it, no sound or breath will
issue ; and if, while the efifort of breath is continued, the tongue
should suddenly take the vibrating position, the sound will burst
out with abrupt energy, proportioned to the force of the silent
effort preceding it. This condition and action of the reed, are
analogous to those of the glottis in many cases of stammering.
To keep the reed in a position for vibrating, an aperture must
be maintained ; and, to produce voice, the lips of the glottis must
be in close approximation, without being absolutely in contact.
Too much openness of the glottis, renders the tone breathy,
husky, impurely vocal ; and too little openness, gives a strained,
shrill, and inflexible character to the voice. It is important to
* The vibrating length of the tongiie may be altered hj means of a piece of
thread, — as shown in the cut.
THE VOICE. 15
all persons who labour under difficulties in speech, or in the
management of their voices, to be perfectly familiar with the
nature of the process by which voice is formed ; to make them-
selves so by experiment ; to test the mechanism of analogous
sounds ; and aim at the improvement of their own vocal powers,
by applying the principles which they find to govern the analogous
processes they examine.
It will be observed, on experimenting with the reed or quill,
that the sound does not begin by a gradual process from the
rustling effect of breath to pure sonorousness, but with a quick
explosiveness ; as if the tongue, on first feeling the pressure of
the stream of air, did, for a moment, shut up the aperture, before
its vibrations commenced ; or, rather, we should say, as if its
first vibration occluded the aperture for an instant. So, in the
production of glottal sound, there must be an energetic, explosive
opening of the voice, by a momentary holding in of the breath
before the vocal emission. This is a great beauty in vocalizing ;
and a source of as much ease and power, as of grace. However
soft and feeble the tone of voice, it should exhibit the same prin-
ciple of opening fulness. Even in whispering, the action of the
glottis must be the same. When the voice is otherwise commenced,
so much breath is wasted before vocality is obtained, that a good
clear voice can hardly be produced by the powerless expiration.
This principle of vocalizing is prescribed by scientific singing-
masters, as an exercise to purify and strengthen the vocal tones.
Mons. Garcia, of Paris, in his lesson-books, dwells on the
importance of this *^coup de la gloUe," But, to speakers, it is
fEir more important than to singers. Yet, to what lesson-book in
speech can the student turn to be directed in this matter?
The following modes of practice will soon enable any person to
master this principle in speech.
Inhale a full breath, and retain it for some seconds; then, with
all possible force and abruptness, eject the vowel sounds, with
open mouth, from the throat; avoiding, however, in the most
forcible effort, any bending, or other action of the head or body.
The following mark may be used to denote this ea^losion of tiie
voice (>).
>>>>>> >>•>>
E, A, Eh, Ah, I, Ow, Aw, Oi, 0. Oo.
When this has been sufficiently practised, let the student enounce,
in the same way, but with abated force, as many repetitions of
16 THE VOICE.
each yowel as he can effect with one expiration ; taking care, that
after each sound, the chest is held up, or the next vowel will pro-
bably lose the explosive quality, The same mark, reduced, will
represent this vocal action (>>>).
>>> >>> >>> >>> >>>
E, Ah, I, Aw, 0, &c.
After a little practice, facility and neatness in this formation of
voice will be obtained ; and the principle may be applied to all
INITIAL VOWELS.
Imperfectly formed voice requires a much greater expenditure
of breath than pure clear tone. If the preceding theory have not
made the reason of this obvious, the prolongation of vowels will
prove the truth of the observation. The less clear the sound, the
greater is the waste of breath ; the more sonorous the voice, the
more easy is its production, and the less exhausting its continuous
exercise. This principle is of sufficient importance to demand
at least a testing practice from the student.
Expand the chest, so as fully to charge the lungs with air, and,
after for a moment holding in the breath, sound the monophthong
vowels,
E, Eh, Ah, Aw, Oo,
prolonging each, while the sound can be steadily maintained.
We have marked this process by a straight line, thus ( — .)
When the voice wavers, becomes feeble, and requires an efort of
expiration to produce vibration, stop, and begin again. After
practice, and the acquirement of art in managing the chest, &c.
so as to maintain a steady, equable pressure on the lungs, the
Ty)wels should be continued purely for the space of from twenty-
five to thirty seconds.
Another very useful exercise, and one by which the action of
the glottis will* be distinctly felt, consists in again and again
shutting off and recommencing the sound. We may be understood,
when we say, that this is merely the preceding exercise, with the
vowels clipped up in little pieces, instead of running out in one
unbroken length. It may be thus represented (- - -). The
voice must be perfectly stopped at every break, and each breath
should last, at least, as long in this as in the preceding exercise.
e, eh, ah, aw, oo.
THE VOICE. 17
When it can be done with neatness, this principle of finishing
sound should be applied to all final vowels.
When the voice is feeble, or the lungs apparently weak, the
above four modes of practice will be of much benefit. To assist
in the development of the chest and voice in children, the de-
lighted urchins might be safely encouraged to such noisy bawling,
at convenient time and place. A strong middle tone is the best
for ordinary practice, but^ to strengthen particular tones, the
voice should range from low to high, and high to low, — running
over its compass on one inflexion. When the ordinary pitch of
the voice is too high, the vowels may be practised from high to
low, beginning softly, and increasing in strength of sound as the
voice descends. To strengthen the higher tones, wliich is seldom
an object of necessity or study among speakers, the voice may
increase in energy as it ascends. In this way, the compass of
the voice may be much extended, and a degree of mellowness
and flexibility, seldom acquired without art, will be attained.
Specific exercises on inflexions of the voice will be found in
subsequent chapters.
We have hitherto considered only the formation of voice.
There are peculiarities of tone, arising from the way in which the
voice is directed, — ^from the position of the soft palate, teeth, lips, &c.
The soft palate, C velum pendulum palati) is a curtain depending
from the back of the mouth, with a small tongue-like prolonga-
tion, called the uvula. It performs many important functions in
vocal modulation and articulation. It acts as a valve to cover
the nasal apertures, and prevent the issue of breath or voice by
them ; or, to open them for the free or partial passage of the
vocal current. The contact of this organ with the back of the
tongue is the formation of the English element NG, in which the
voice passes freely and entirely through the nostrils ; its approx-
imation to the tongue divides the vocal current into an oral and
a nasal stream, and thus gives the peculiar character to the
French elements en, m, ony un, and causes the
" nasal twang,
Heard at conventicle, where worthy men,
Bfiisled by custom, strain celestial themes
Through the pressed nostril, spectacle bestrid."
The soft palate is in the same way approximated to the tongue
C
18 THE VOICE.
for the English articulations M and N ; in forming which, the
voice escapes by the nose only, but reverberates in the mouth ;
where it is shut in, by the lips for the former, and by the
tongue and palate for the latter element. The action of the
soft palate demands the attention of all who would speak with
purity of voice, and propriety of articulation. '
Let the student place himself before a glass, — his back to the
light, — and, opening his mouth, inhale breath strongly, but noise-
lessly. If he do not, in this process, elevate the soft palate, and
depress the tongue, so as to form a visible arch of nearly an inch
in height and breadth, he will be the better of practice for that
purpose. A little patient exercise will give him the requisite
power. He must strive to retain the velum at the elevation he
obtains, as long as possible, dwelling on the open vowels ah and
aw, without allowing it to fall. He will distinctly see the position
of this organ in sounding these vowels, and he may be able, by
sensation and partial observation, to maintain it in the same
position in sounding the closer vowels, e, eh, oh, oo, &c. By this
sort of exercise, a nasal tone of voice will be purified, and that
most disagreeable blemish of speech removed.
A GUTTURAL tono of voico arises, in a great measure, from the
too close approximation of the tongue and velum, by which the
uvula is laid in the way of the vocal current ; frequently from
enlarged glands, (tonsils ;) and from contraction of the arch of
the fauces, from whatever cause arising. The nature of the
peculiarity indicates the means of cure. The more the arch can
be expanded, the less guttural vibration can there be. So far as
faulty habit is the cause of the guttural tone, it will be susceptible
of easy correction, by observation of the formation of the open
vowels, and the practice of similar means to those recommended
for the nasal tone.
The quality of the voice is affected by the position of the teeth.
All the vowels may be sounded with the teeth closed, and they
may all be sounded with the teeth considerably separated ; but
the tone of voice is very different in these cases. When the teeth
are close, the vocal current strikes against them, and becomes
deadened, mujffled, and deprived of both purity and power. In the
close vowels, e and oo especially, it is frequently still farther
deteriorated in quality by a degree of vibration in the teeth.
The teeth should never be closed in speech, but, on the con-
THE VOICE. 19
trarj, should be kept as open as possible, to allow the Toice to
oome freely out from the seat of its formation.
The LIPS, too, influence the tone of the voice. The best
remedial advice for any peculiarity arising from a faulty disposi-
tion of the lips, is, n^ver to use these organs in speech where their
action is not indispensable. The most common faults, are pro-
jection, and pursing of the lips ; keeping them in contact at the
corners ; and making the oral aperture incline unequally to one
side. By these ungraceful and deforming habits, the quality of
the voice is variously affected. The lips should take the form of
the range of the teeth, — ^but without constraint, — and move with
the teeth, in a vertical direction only. Any great deviation from
this rule, is inelegant, and injurious to the tone.
Weakness of voice, we have thus seen, is owing to a faulty
formation of voice, — to insufficient glottal vibration ; and pecu*
liarities of tone arise generally from modifications of the channel
through which the vocal current flows. Many of these are
perfectly controllable by art : well directed practice never fails to
produce a very considerable effect. Exercise, conducted on
natural principles, will be found to be the best specific for the
improvement of the voice, the strengthening of the lungs, and
the regulation of all vocal action.
Before entering upon the Theory of Vowel Formation, we shall
give — as fundamentally connected with the production of voice —
some directions for the management of
RESPIRATION.
The importance of knowing how to regulate the breathing with
ease and efficiency, in public speaking, cannot be over-estimated.
Many a zealous speaker has cut short his career of usefulness, by
injurious action of the chest in respiration ; and complaints are
most numerous — especially among clergymen — of uneaseinss in
speaking, great exhaustion after vocal effort, pain in the chesty
expectoration of blood, and other symptoms of serious pulmonary
affections, which manifest the prevalence of fatal ignorance
on this most important subject.
Here is one serious practical evil arising from the neglect of
preparatory training in speech, as a part of the necessary education
20 RESPIUATION.
of clergymen. They are set to the peiformauce of their arduous
public duties, with the mere instinct of speech ; and, in conse-
quence, many sink under the self-inflicted injuries of zealous but
misdirected effort. We see young men — consumptive looking,
and with their chests almost collapsed — who work themselves
into vehemence in the pulpit, by dint of sheer bodily labour. For
want of a principle of emphatic expiration, which might have
been, and should have been, acquired by them before the delivery
of their first sermon, they are compelled to throw a bodily motion
into every accent, so that, to avoid monotony and drawl, they
muat be constantly in action — tossing and swaying the body —
rising and falling on the heels — nodding the head — swinging and
jerking the arms — kneading the cushion — or hammering on the
pulpit frame. Some, with little taste, or tact, fall into a regular
set or rotation of actions, which they perform as uniformly as
automata ; and others, gratifying their sense of the necessity
for variety, yield to every impulse, and indulge in the most out
of place extravagance ; under which they steam, and drip, and
froth ; while the cataract of strained, ranting sound which is
poured forth, exhausts the powers of nature, and the o'erwrought
speaker, panting and breathless, sinks into a state of complete
prostration.
■ The ordinary amount of air inspired for vital wants, is quite
insufficient for t?oca{ purposes. The lungs must, therefore, before
speech is commenced, and during speech, be made to contain a
far greater than ordinary supply of air. For breath, let it be re-
membered, is the materiel of speech.
To make the speaker's respiration healthful, the act of inspir-
ation must be full and deep. No efifort of sitction is required to
effect this : the chest has but to be freely expanded, and the air
will rush into the lungs, and distend them to the full extent of the
cavity created within the thorax. The chest must then he held up ;
and the glottal valve must prevent wasteful emission before speech
is commenced : and, during the whole flow of speech, the chest
should fall as little as possible. The upward pressure of the
diaphragm, bearing on the lungs, will expel the breath sufficiently,
without the laborious action of the bony structure of the chest.
There needs no muscular straining or effort, to elevate, or keep
raised, the framework of the chest : the wave of breath inspired,
RESPIRATION. 21
should buoy it up, and frequent replenishiiigs should keep it, as
it were, afloat, on the surface of the body of air in the lungs.
The breathing must be conducted inavdihly: an inspiration,
to be full, must he silent Noisy inspirations are necessarily in-
complete, as their sound arises from constriction of the glottal
aperture, which, of course, lessens the volume of the current
of air that can enter. But even were such breathing as eflfectual
as the noiseless flowing-in of a wave of air, the hideous eflfect of
it would be enough to keep every speaker of taste from so
outraging the feelings of his auditors. This sort of strangulatory
inspiration is most common on the stage, among the melo-
dramatic heroes, whose element and forte are " coloured fire"
and " desperate combats."
The common Scotch bagpipe gives an excellent and most
convincing illustration of the comparative efficacy of a partial,
and of a complete inflation of the lungs. See the piper, when
the bag is only half filled, tuning the long drones ! how his arm
jerks on the wind-bag ! — and hear the harsh and uneven notes
that come jolting out from the pressure I Then see him, when
the sheep-skin is firmly swelled beneath his arm I — how gently
his elbow works upon it ! while the clear notes ring out with ear-
splitting emphasis. Let the public speaker learn hence, an
important lesson. He but plays upon an instrument — one, too,
like the bagpipe in construction. Let him learn to use it ration-
ally ; in consciousness, at least, of the mechanical principles of
his apparatus. For, as the instrument of speech is more perfect
than anything the hand of man has fashioned, it surely must,,
when properly handled, be " easier to be played on than a pipe I"
Many exercises for prolonging the expiration will be found in
difiPerent parts of this volume.
A very useful exercise for strengthening the respiration wq
may note here. It is Beading in a strong, loud Whisper. This
will be found very laborious at first, but it will give good practice,
and will strongly manifest whatever fault of breathing there
may be to be overcome.
The following outward index of correct respiration will serve
to keep the student right in his practice.
A full inspiration elevates and expands the chest, and, by tlie
descent of the diaphragm, slightly protrudes tlie abdomen ; and
a correct cocal expiration manifests itself, first, in the flattening
22 VOWELS.
of the abdomen, and then in its very gradually falling inward, in
prolonged expiration : — the chest making no action downwards, but
merely subsiding a little, as the bulk of the lungs diminishes.
In cases of pulmonary weakness, the very opposite of this
mode of expiration is generally found to be habitual. Remove the
error of respiration, and the lungs will recover their strength.
Stammerers almost always have their respiration, thus, the
reverse of natural The regulation of the breathing is to them
the most important, and, generally, the most difficult part of the
process of cure.
VOWELS.
The glottis produces voice ; the shape of the mouth gives vowel
character to the voice. Variations of musical pitch, of acuteness
and gravity in the sounds, are caused, in part at least, by variations
in the glottis; but all vowel varieties are caused by changes in
the shape of the vocal passage. If this theory is correct, the
reed vibration* ought to be capable of being modified into the
different vowel sounds. It is. The mere action of the hand
enclosing the open end of the reed or quill modifies the sound
sufficiently to prove the effect of similar modification on the
glottal sounds. Close the hand around the quill, so as to leave
a very contracted aperture for the passage of the sound, and
then expand the fingers, and the vowels oo and ah will be
produoed. Reiterate the actions rapidly, and the hand will
give out no bad imitation of a cat's wawling — w-ah-oo—^w-ah-oo
— w-ah-oo. The apparatus of the mouth is wonderfully cal-
culated to effect the most minute and delicate changes with
definiteness and precision. Nature must, in this case, ever
be infinitely superior to the most plastic power of art. Yet art
has accomplished the mechanism of the vowels in various ways,
and has even effected intelligible imitations of all the elements of
speech. De Kempelen constructed a speaking machine ; and,
recently, Mr Faber's highly ingenious speaking automaton was
exhibited in this country. Mr Willis, another philosophical
inquirer into the mysteries of this subject, found that the vowel
sounds might be imitated by drawing out a long straight tube
* Page 14.
VOWELS. 23
from the vibrating reed. " In this experiment he arrived at a
curious result : with a tube of a certain length the series of vowels
Contineutal Sounds.
■^
1-8 7 IS 18 «
i, e, a, o, u,
was obtained by gradually drawing it out ; and if the length was
increased to a certain point, a farther gradual increase produced
the same sequence in an inverted order, u— o — a c i ; a still
farther increase produced a return to the first scale, and so on/'
Our own experiments on the mouth corroborate this as the natu-
ral order of these vowels ; but we have been led to carry out the
principle of vowel sequence much farther. We have been enabled
to construct a scheme which includes, in regular progression, all
the vowels in our language, besides several others, — character-
istic of dialects, and of the French and other languages ; and to
which any other peculiar formations might be added, so as to
form a complete scale of natural or possible vowel sounds.
If the second of Mr Willis's series, [e=a(le)] we reasoned, can be
obtained by mere elongation of the sound conductor, beyond its
dimensions for the production of the first [i=ee(l)], the change from
ft to 6 will probably be gradual ; and, if so, the interval between the
two sounds must yield some intermediate varieties of vowel
quality. It should be possible, we thought, to pass from sound to
sound by such slow progression, as to exhibit vowels in the same
softly blending relation that is so beautifully seen in colours,
where melting shades almost imperceptibly lead the eye from one
to another of the prismatic series. And this is possible.
The following simple but conclusive experiment was one of
our early landmarks in the discovery of vowel principles ; and it
may serve to give the student a clearer idea than lengthened
theorizing could, of the mechanism of vowels, and of the vowel
unity of the voice as emitted from the glottis.
Prolong with open mouth the vowel ah, and, while doing so,
gradually cover the mouth with the hand. At every stage of
this process, the ear will recognise a change of vowel quality ;
the sound will in progression become
U(rn), A(ll), 0(re), 0(we), Oo(ze),
by the mere contraction of the external aperture, while the
* Tlie numbers refer to our English Vowel Sthenic, pjige 31.
24 VOWELS.
internal chauuel of the moutli remains uniformlj and equally
extended.
There are two great agents in vowel modification, the lips and
the tongue. The lips, bj their approximation, externally contract
the oral aperture ; and the tongue, bj its elevation towards the
palate, internally diminishes the oral channel. The effect of the
labial approximation is, what we have seen to result from covering
the mouth with the hand, viz. modification of the vowel quality
from ah to oo. The effect of the lingtial approximation is,
similarly to modify the sound from ah to ee.
The arrangement of the lips, then, produces one set of vowels,
and that of the tongue, another ; though, perhaps, few of them owe
their formation to either organ independently of the other. The
labial vowels require an expanded internal channel ; to maintain
which the tongue is slightly depressed at the root, as the labial
aperture contracts ; and the lingual vowels require a clear and
broad external aperture ; to maintain which the lips are gradually
elongated as the tongue rises within the arch of the palate.
From the mutual independence of these vowel modifiers — the
lips and tongue, — it will be obvious that their vowel positions may
be assumed simultaneously, or variously combined. This is an
important and, hitherto,— so far as we are aware, — an unnoticed
fact, to the discovery of which we were led in our experimental
endeavours to find the exact formation of the vowel in sir, her, &c.
and of a peculiar, close sound, which some Irish pupils gave for
the vowel oo. When the principle of separate and simultaneous
labial and lingual vowel formation revealed itself, these and all
other tested sounds found at once their proper place in the triple
vowel scale.
Equal combinations of labial and lingual forms produce a set
of vowels to which we shall give the name of lahio-lingual vowels.
In this class will be recognised a few familiar sounds charac-
teristically distinct from those of the two other classes : but, with
the exception of the sound in sir, her, &c, the labio-lingual class
contains no genuine English vowel.
FIRST VOWEL POSmON.
The first and last of Mr Willis's series, are the close labial and
lingual vowels ee(l) and oo(ze.) The approximation of the organs
in forming these vowels is so close, that any further contraction
of the vocal aperture creates a vihratory efect upon the tongue or
VOWELS. 25
lips, and so converts the vowel ee into the articulation Y, and the
vowel 00 into the articulation W.
The simultaneous formation of ee and oo produces the peculiar
Irish sound above mentioned, which is heard in some of the Irish
dialetts, instead of oo,
EE, then, is the \st lingual vowel ; oo the Ist labial vowel; and
the Irish sound, combining the qualities of ee and oo, the 1st labio-
lingual vowel.
SECOND VOWEL POSITION.
The tongue a little depressed from its elevated position at ee(l,)
gives a vowel intermediate in form and effect to eeQ.,) and a(le).
This is the sound of i as in ill, is, it, &c, which is therefore the 2nd
lingual vowel.
The lips slightly separated from their close position at oo(^ze,)
produce a sound intermediate to oo(ze) and oQd), which is heard
in some English dialects instead of o(ld) ; as when a Lancashire-
man says, " Put some coal" (almost, but not quite, cool) " on the
fire." This, then, is the 2nd labial vowel.
These two formations combined, produce an appreciably differ-
ent sound from the first labio-lingual vowel — intermediate to ii, and
the next vowel u(ne.) This is the 2nd labio-lingual vowel.
THIRD VOWEL POSmON.
A farther slight enlargement of the oral apertures, by the depres-
sion of the tongue, and separation of the lips, produces, by the for-
mer action a(le,) the 3rd lingual, and by the latter o(ld,) the Srd
labial vowel.
The union of these formations gives the French sound of u, as
in une, but, lu, &c., which is therefore the Zrd labio-lingual vowel.
It is to be remarked of the two correspondent sounds a(le) and
o(ld), as a curious peculiarity, that in English usage they are
both diphthongally terminated with the close vowel of their res-
pective classes, — a with e, and o with oo. The omission of this
final element of these beautiful vowels is a marked provincialism.
FOURTH VOWEL POSITION.
A farther slight opening of the vowel apertures from the Srd
Ungual position, produces a sound heard in Scotland instead of
the 2nd lingual, in such words as ill, in, sit, &c. ; and, from the
labial formation, produces the monophthongal sound of o as heard
in English before r, in such words as ore, four, soar, &c.
D
26 VOWELS.
The I^bio-lingual vowel resulting from the combination of these
forms, occurs as a provincial and rustic peculiarity in England,
instead of the more open vowel correctly heard in such words as
sir, her, Ac.
FIFTH VOWEL POSITION.
An increased depression of the tongue gives the formation of
the sound heard in e(^re, J ell, end, &c., the 5th lingual vowel : and
a correspondent increase of the labial aperture from o(re) gives
the vowel heard in all, saw, on, &c., — the 6th labial formation.
From the combination of these positions results the vowel re-
presented by eu in French, and by oe and b, in German.
SIXTH VOWEL POSITION.
The next English degree of openness produces, in the lingual
series, the sound heard in an, at, &c. ; and in the labial series, a
correspondent enlargement, produces the vowel uh as it is pronoun-
ced in Scotland, in such words as up, urge, &c.
The combination of these positions gives the peculiar English
sound heard in sir, her, earn, <0c.
We before observed, that few of the vowels owe their formation to
labial or lingual position alone ; there is for every vowel a neces-
sary arrangement of the whole mouth : but the preceding sounds
are formed by so evident a proportion of the one over the other,
that their being called respectively labial or lingual vowels, will
be perfectly intelligible. The sounds which follow, however, are
dependent chiefly on the internal arrangement of the mouth, and
do not so obviously fall under the same classification. The lips
are well spread and open, and the tongue well depressed, so that
the changes of organic arrangement are less manifest ; but the
vowels are all in regular progression, from close labial and close
lingual forms, and do, therefore, truly belong to one or other of
these classes. Positions intermediate to any two, likewise, may
stiU be formed, though, from the necessarily slight differences
between their effects, ears untrained to very accurate observation,
may think them, in their separate utterance, " distinctions without
difference." On such minute distinctions, however, often depends
the very important difference between a cultivated speaker and
an uneducated or a provincial one.
VOWELS. 27
SEVENTH VOWEL POSITION.
The next more open vowels than a(n), the 6th lingual, and w(p)
Scotch, the 6th labial, are two sounds exactly intermediate to
these vowels, and the most open sound ak The former is heard
is such words as ask, past, bath, &c. ; and the latter is the regular
sound heard in the English utterance of such words as the exam-
ples of the preceding sound, ttp, urge, &c. Let a Scotch and an
English mouth pronounce any words of this kind, and the differ-
ence will be readily recognised by any ear.
The corresponding labio-lingual position gives a shade of sound
which occurs as one of the many modes of pronouncing the
vowel in str, her, fir, girl, earth, &c. These words, in district
and individual peculiarities, exhibit every possible variety of
labio-lingual sound, from the close seur of the rustic Yorkshire-
man, to the open sah of the untaught cockney.
EIGHTH VOWEL POSITION.
In the open vowel ah^ — called the Italian a, — both classes of
vowels unite. The lips are fully spread, the tongue lies flat, and
the whole mouth is in even neutrality between the two modes
of vowel formation.
The subjoined diagram may help to make this altogether new
subject more intelligible to the reader. Let those who feel inter-
ested in this department of knowledge test our classification by
their Gwn experiments, and we believe that its correctness will
not be disputed. If this be so, what an assistance to the student
in acquiring, and to the teacher in imparting foreign pronunciations
must it prove. Even those common French sounds, u and eu, are
so awkwardly attempted by our countrymen, in the absence of
a knowledge of their formation, that they are seldom perfectly
acquired, even in a four or five years' course of instruction in
French. Yet, with a knowledge of the mechanism of such sounds^
who could be four hours in mastering them ?
28
VOWELS.
General Vowel Scheme.
lingual. labw-lingual,
Iriah wicty ot
labial.
1
O
Reo
4
e
-1
i(n)
a-«
teb
i(ll)
—2
00-
00
Provl.
— o
3ii-
■0^
ProT. E ngliah
4 as insir-
Eaffli»h
2
00
e(ll)
a(n)
7 a(ek)
Fr»
Bcb
5 eu-
aw
o(re) 4
5
JEag liri>
6 er,ir-
Vuio
7 er,
ty of
ir
foot ch
u (rge) 6
u (rge) 7
8
ah
This table contams, we believe, all the vowels that occur in
modem European languages, besides several dialectic varieties.
But the plasticity of the organs which modify voice is so great,
that there may be many other shades of sound heard in other
languages. The number of possible vowels can, we conceive, be
as little estimated as the number of possible shades of colour.
Any new vowel may be added to this scheme, so as to render
it complete for any, or for every language ; and thus, a simple
system of notation might be constructed, by which all the vowel
sounds of any people might be represented intelligibly to readers
of whatever country or tongue. A table of all recognised vowels
and articulations, on some such natural principle of arrangement
as this, would be one step towards the realization of that indefinite
philological speculation, — a universal language.
To find the place of any vowel not included in our scheme, put
the mouth in the position for the closest vowels, (e, oo, and the
intermediate sound respectively,) and, from each of these points,
very slowly enlarge the oral aperture to the most open position,
ah; — of course continuing the voice the whole time. In one or
VOWELS. 29
other of the three gradations of sound so produced, the ear should
be able to recognise the vowel sought for, and so ascertain its
exact formation. Bj this mode of vowel progression, too, the
accuracy of the three sequences in our scheme may be satisfac-
torily tested.
We have given the formation of twenty-two vowels : —of these
thirteen are genuine English sounds. The mechanism and ap-
plication of the latter we shall examine minutely ; and, under
each vowel, we shall arrange a set of exercises, the practice of
which may be both interesting and useful. — (Dictionary of
English sounds, section first J
The characteristics, long, short, open, shut, slender, hroad, Ac,
have been applied to the vowels so unsystematically as to confuse
very much the notions generally entertained with respect to vowel
qualities. Long and short should be applied only to vowels
which are essentially the same in formation, and which differ in
nothing but duration. But we find these terms used with refer-
ence to sounds which are so different in their structure that no
change of duration can assimilate them. Thus, e in them is
called the short sound of the '4ong slender'' a in tame; a in man
is reckoned the short sound of the a m father; i in him is called
the short sound of the diphthong i in find; and o in not, and u in
h\U, ^jre called respectively the short sounds of o and u,* the long
sounds being heard in such words as owe and you. Of the sound
of i, as in him, Mr Walker has said, *' This sound is the sound of
e, the last letter of the diphthong that forms the long i ; and it is
not a little surprising that Dr Johnson should say that the short
t WA9 a sound wholly different from the long one."
The lexicographer had, however, in this case, discriminated
better than the orthoepist ; for the '* short i " is a distinctly
different formation from either element of the *' long one." Mr
Walker considers that the words bid, lid, rid, and head, lead, read,
differ only in the quantity of the vowel, — for i, he says, is but the
short sound of e ; and this theory, taken up without examination
by his followers, is still to be found published and republished, in
violation of what the dishonoured ear would, if consulted, at once
* In the extraordinary classification of vowels by Mr Pitman, the Author of
the System of ^* Phonography," u in 7iut is asserted to be the short sound of o in
note, Mr P. declares these sounds to be identical in quality^ and different
only m quantity or duration !
30 VOWELS.
show to be the truth. Consistently with this theory, Mr Walker
calls the Scotch pronunciation, vee-sion, decee-sioUt d:c. for vision,
decision, <tc., simply a lengthening of the English sound. Now,
the tendency of all vowels is to open in prolongation ; but " short
t " is more open than e, and would not therefore naturally be
lengthened into e. On the contrary, if any person, guided by his
ears, and not by preconceived classifications, strive to lengthen the
generally short vowel i, as in vision, him, ill, &c, he will find that
the tendency of the prolonged sound will be towards a(le) rather
than eeQ), This may be well tested by singing the words to
long notes.
Long and short are qualities that cannot be predicated as
essential characteristics of any simple vowel ; for every vowel may
be indefinitely prolonged by those who have sufficient power over
their vocal organs to retain them steadily in the vowel position.
A person accustomed to the vowel in nun, short, as we generally
have it in English, may essay in vain to prolong it with purity ;
but a Welshman, who is accustomed to the sound as a long
vowel, and as the alphabetic name of the letter y, will give it any
degree of duration with ease.
The terms long and short are, in this work, used only with
reference to the same radical sound.
It is to be observed, that the long forms of vowels have a more
free and open aperture than the short ones. The modification of the
mouth is the same, but on a larger scale. Thus the vowel in could
and cooed, in pull and pool, in very and vary, in not and nought, are
long and short degrees of the same vowels ; and the aperture of the
prolonged sounds is more open than that of the short, while it is of
the same shape, and gives essentially the same character to the voice.
Open and shut are terms, too, very faultily applied to vowels,
as no vowels are ever shut; and all vowels must be open, if these
words have any reference to the oral aperture. Vowels are
said to be shut, by Mr Walker, when they do not terminate
syllables, and open, when they do ; but the division of words into
syllables is too arbitrary for any such distinction. Long
vowels are frequently " shut,'* and short ones " open ;" so there
can be no utility in a classification so vague. Besides, the
junction of an articulation does not affect the formation of the
vowel : whether alone or in articulate combinations, the vowels
are finished where they are produced— viz. in the glottis. Arti-
culations subjoined affect the length of vowels ; but the term " shut,"
VOWELS.
31
or any other, to signify this, would be useless, as all articulations
do not affect the vowels alike.
Broad and slender, also, are terms of no utility. They are
applied to vowels utterly unlike in every characteristic of sound.
A in fate, is called the slender sound, and a in fall, the broad
sound of the same letter. A classification founded, like this, on
letters, must lead to confusion, while letters are so indiscrimin-
ately used in our orthography. We have the same letters repre-
senting half a dozen different sounds, and the same sounds
represented in more than a dozen different ways.
Discarding all these names, then, we shall adopt a simple
numerical notation and nomenclature for our vowels. In this
way we hope to be the better able to fix the student's attention
on sounds, irrespective of letters, and to direct with certainty to
the practice and application of any vowel sound in connexion
with whatever vowel letter or combination of letters.
The following is a Table of the English vowels numbered from
I to 13. Those which; when accented, are always long, are
marked (") ; those which are always short, (") ; and those
which are sometimes long and sometimes short, (" ").
ENGLISH VOWELS.
1
e-e-(l)
(P)»<
:u)
(p)oo(l)
13
2
1(U)
oh
12
3
a(le)
o(re)
11
4
6(U) e(re]
1
6(1.) a(U)
10
5
a(n)
a(p) u(ni)
9
6
a(8k)
7
ah
ear(n)
8*
There are, besides, three combinations of simple sounds con-
tained in the above Table, forming the
Diphthongs.
7-1, as in i(sle). | 7-13, as in ow(V),
10-1, as in oi(V),
This classification of English vowels may be thought, at first
sight, too difficult for general adoption, but it is, in reality, greatly
more simple than the ordinary modes of arrangement. True,
we require a separate notation for thirteen sounds in English, —
* The iHrecise formation of this vowel is given at page 26. All the other
sonncls fall exactly into their proper places in this arrangement.
32 VOWELS
and alphabetic learners, we may be told, hare, on the old plan, but
five characters to commit to memory. But have we only Jive
sounds ? While we possess nearly thrice the number of vowel
sounds that we have of letters, it is folly to think of teaching the
sounds by the letters. Each letter has to be studied as many
sounds ; and a tedious enumeration of diphthongs and triphthongs,
arbitrarily compounded to the eye, though generally simple to
the ear, have to be committed to the memory, as symbolic of an
immense plurality of sounds. By our plan, thirteen sounds must
be ^sociated with thirteen invariable marks, and there the
difficulty ends. We may retain our irregular orthography as long
as we like, and trouble our youth little about it, if we only teach
them to associate vowel sounds with a simple numerical notation.
To show the minute accuracy with which Pronunciation may
be noted and taught by means of this vowel scheme, the following
marked passages are inserted.
In order to use the notation with certainty, the student must
first thoroughly master the simple key sounds, and associate
them with the numbers, without any connexion with letters. He
must next gain the power of vocally analyzing his utterances, so
as to be able to produce singly the very same quality of vowel
which he forms in the articulate combinations of words.
Note. — The letter R, after any long vowel^ has invariably the sound of the
Eighth Vowel, L and ^ at the end of a word are printed in italics^ to show
that these letters then^ of themselves,, constitute syllables, A hyphen between
two numbers indicates that the sounds are diphthongally blended. Variable
8
Words. The article the is pronounced the before an articulation, and before
1 7-1
the first vowel ; and generally the before any other vowel. The pronouns my
7-1 8 8 ^ 4-8
and mine are pronounced my and mine when unemphatic. The verbs were
1 8 8
and been are pronounced were and been, when not emphatic. The v;ords
4JB 4-8 4-8 4.8 l'^
there, (impersonal,) their, wherefore, and therefore, are contracted into
* 8 8 8 8
ther(e), then*, wherefore and therefore, when unemphatic.
7.1 2 2 13 4412 2 48 4 192 13 4
Vice is the cruel enemy which renders men destructive to men :
S S 2 10 2 2 ? ^ & 2 7-1 2 1 10
which racks the body with pain, and the mind with remorse ;
VOWELS. 33
2 12 IS 4 7-1 5 9 14 10 4 9 5 12 9
which produces strife, faction, revenge, oppression, and sedition ;
2 4 lO-I 12 71 4 2 2 2 3 9 10 5 14
which embroils so-ci-et-y, Idndles the flames of war, and erects
2 2 2 9 2 3 6 3 1 10 7-1 5 12 10
inqmsitions ; which takes awaj peace from life, and hope from
4 2 10 11 4 585 5482
death ; which brought forth death at first, and has ever since
12 2 2 10 2 4 10 2 7 3 13 5 2 10
clothed it with all its terrors ; which arms Nature and the God
9 3 13 64 9 5 64 225 3 224
of Nature against us ; and against which it has been the business
9 10 3 2 13 7-1 7-13 12 2 9 5 1 13 2 2 71 4-8 1
of all ages to find out provisions and securities, by var-i-
2 213 9 10 5 K 9 9 8 4
institutions, laws, and forms of government.
9
ous
7-1 2 8 2 8 2 719 8 5 6 19 10 10 1 10
By the term Liberty, 1 understand a freedom from all respon-
222244 10 11522 8 13 5 129 2 12
sibility, except what morality, virtue, and religion impose.
52 1 12 2282 2 2 10 12 5 2 2 13
That is the only liberty which is consonant with the true
284 9 5 1 12 2282 5 48 25 12
interests of man — the only liberty that renders his asso-
.139 2 24 12 8 64 5 5 2 1 12 2282
ci-ation with his fellows permanent and happy — the only liberty
5 34 226 1 13 10 96 5 10 89 10
that places him in a peaceful, honourable, and prosperous com-
13 22 1 12 2282 5 3 2 29965
munity — the only liberty that makes him the son of a land
5 1 13 2522 2 4 5 294 96
that he would inhabit till his death, and the subject of a
3 5 1 13 14 2 2 10 825 2 9
state that he would defend with his property and his blood.
13 4 2 7-1 6 9 15 17-1 2 14 9 5 2 4
To set the mind above the appet i tes is the end of abstinence ;
29 9 278 10 8 13 1 10 68 13 9 2
which one of the Fathers observes to be, not a virtue, but the
7-13 9 9 6 8 13 7 1 10 4 8 2 13 13 10 3
ground-work of a virtue. By for-bear-ing to do what may
2 12 4219 1 35 7-13-8 2 13 2 9 13
innocently be done, we may add hour-ly new vigour to
E
34 VOWELS.
4 10 IS 9 5 1 13 2 7-13-8 9 12 5 4 4
resolution, and secure the power of resistance when plea-
is lo 2 s 4 54 4-8 7 13 2
sure or interest shall lend their charms to guilt.
3 2 10 8 1
Scaling yonder peak,
7-1 10 5 1 12 1-8 2 7-13
I saw an eag^e wheeling near its brow,
11-8 162 2 10 454 2
O'er the abyss : — his broad expanded wings
3 7 5 12 9 4 9 10 14-8
Lay calm and motionless upon the air,
5 3 1 12 4 4-8 2 7.13 4-8 S
As if he floated there with-out their aid,
71 2 12 5 9 2 9 10 4 2
By the sole act of his unlorded will,
5 101 2 7-13 9 2222
That bu oy ed him proudly up. Instinctively
7-14 2 12 4 4 1 7-is 2 2
I bent my bow ; yet kept he rounding still
2 4-8 2 8 5 2 2 1 71
His air-y circle, as in the delight
9 4 13 2 15 S 11
Of measuring the amp^e range beneath,
5 7-lS 6 7-lS 5 10 1 1 4 10
And round a-bout ; absorb'd, he heeded not
2 4 5 4 2 71 IS 10 13
The death that threaten'^ him. — I could not shoot,
10 2 8 2 7-1 9 2 12 tf 7-1
*Twas liberty! I turned my bow a-side,
And let him soar away !
The Use op Flowers.
10 71 5 5 18 2 11
God might have bade the earth bring forth
1 9 10 3 5 10
Enough for great and small ;
1 19 15 2 17 1
The oak tree and the cedar tree,
2 713 6 7-13-8 5 10
Without a flower at all.
VOWELS. 35
17-1 5 S 1 9 1 9
He might have made enough, enough,
10 4 8 2 10 9 7-13-8
For every want of ours, —
10 9 13 2 4 2 2 S 101
For luxury, medicine, and toil,
5 4 5 3 12 713-8
And yet haye made no flowers.
1 :il.8 2 2 2 7-13 2 71
The ore within the mountain mine,
1 71-8 4 9 13 12
Requir - eth none to grow ;
10 9 2 1 2 12 9 713-8
Nor doth it need the lotus flower
13 3 2 2 8 12
To make the river flow.
2 713 7-1 2 6 9 5 3
The clouds might give abundant rain,
2 7-1 2 13 71 10
The nightly dews might fall,
5 2 8 5 1 .4 7-1 2 5
And the herb that keepeth life in man,
7-1 4 5 9 4 10
Might yet have drunk them all.
4 8 10 4-8 10 8 3 3
Then wherefore, w?^ercfore were they made,
10 7-1 2 3 12 7-1
All dyed with rainbow light, —
10 5 9 2 13 1 4 ^ 3
All fashioned with supremest grace,
9 2 2 3 5 7-1
Upspringing day and night.
22252 15 12
Springing in vaUies green and low,
5 10 2 7-13 2 71
And on the mountains high, —
5 2 2 7-14 2 8 4
And in the silent wilderness,
4 12 5 6 4 71
Where no man passeth by.
36 VOWELS.
7.3-8 7-13 10 7-1 I 71.8 4 10
Our outward life re-qu-i-res them not,
4 8 10 ft S 8
Then wherefore had they birth ?
13 2 2 8 1 71 IS & ;
To minister de-light to man,
13 13 2 71 1 8
To beauti-fy the earth ;
13 2 8 12 13 10 5
To whisper hope to comfort man,
4 4-8 2 3 2 2
Whene'er his faith is dim ; —
10 13 12 4-8 4 10 2 7.13-8
For who so car-eth for the flowers,
2 4-8 9 118 10 2
Will care much more for him. — Mart Howitt.
The AspraATioN H. '
All the vowels are, of course, vocal : but it must be evident
that the vowel positions may be assumed, to modify a voiceless
current of breath. In this way is produced a common element
of language — the aspiration H. H is simply a breathing of the
vowels : the organs are adjusted to the vowel position before the
breathing of U is emitted. Thus h in A^, hay, high, hoe, who,
has a very different effect, — just as different as that of the vowels
themselves in these words. H is to the vowels,^-exactly what P is
to B, F to V, S to Z, Ac. — a breath variety of the same formations.
How, then» it may be asked, can h be recognised in whispering ?
The whispered vowel has, like the spoken one, an explosive com-
mencement in the glottis-^ the H has not. Let this be tested in such
words as is and his, eel and heel, art and heart, old and hold, &c.
wmsPEBEB, and the difference between H and a whispered vowel
will be manifest.
All the elements of language, then, vowel as well as articulate,
may be classed under the three heads, — Breath, Voice, and
Nasal. H represents the breath forms of the vowels ; and their
nasal varieties are the French elements, en, in, on, &c, — thus :
Breath. Voice. Nasal.
H All Vowels French Semi-nasal
Vowels.
Breath Articulations... Voice Articulations... Nasal Articulations.
VOWELS. ' 37
Before entering on the theory of articulation, we must notice
more fully these peculiar French sounds — to which we merely
adyerted at page 17.
FRENCH SEMI-NASAL VOWELS.
This formation of vowel finds no place in correct English utter-
ance, though common in French. The only nasal sounds in
English are M, N, and NG, in which the voice issues entirely by
the nose — though for the first two it passes into the mouth also,
where it is obstructed by the positions of the lips and tongue. M
and N are hoard in French, but the beautifully imitative bell-
sound NG, does not occur in that language. Instead of this, how-
ever, there is a series of semi-nasal sounds, represented by en, in,
on, un, and by various other literal combinations. In forming
them, the soft palate is depressed sufficiently to open the nasal
passages, but not so much as, by contact with the tongue, to ob-
struct the passage into the mouth. This is the diflference between
the English ng, and these French elements which give so much
difficulty to English learners of French. The English ng brings
the tongue and soft palate in contact, and consequently prevents
the issue of breath by the mouth. NG has always, therefore, a
uniform sound ; it is incapable of any marked change of vowel
quality. The French sounds, having an oral as well as a nasal
passage, are capable of being affected by changes in the position
of the mouth. There are four recognised varieties of them.
French gramimarians evince a high antipathy to the imputation
that their language contains a greater number of nasal sounds
than the English. They grant the ungracefulness, generally, of
such sounds, and exultingly point to the three marks of our nasals,
while they have but two (m and n,) as a proof that the English
language has in reality the unenviable superabundance. But the
French has unquestionably six nasal sounds, four of which are
vowels, that is, they are formed by a position, and not an action
of the organs — and two only, articulations. There are, therefore,
in French, not less than double the number of the English nasal
elements. Yet, in truth, the English three occur as frequently in
speech as the French six ; but from their liquid or transparent
nature, they are so fluent and thin, as often to be little more than
perceptible: they do not therefore strike the ear with half the
38 VOWELS.
NftiiHo of nasality that the long French elements do. When the
Knglitth nasalti are before breath articulations, as in lamp, tent,
prince, inch, ink, 4tc„ they are so abrupt as to be scarcely vocal ;
and only when they are final, or before voice articulations, as in
aiujer, amber, wander, &c,, are they correctly capable of prolon-
gation. The numerous terminations in ion, ing, nt, nd, nk, nee, d^c.
produce a very frequent recurrence of them, but it is in unac-
cionted syllables, where their natural abruptness is shortened to
the utmost. The French nasals, on the contrary, are never
Hhort ; btitf in most instances, they are the longest sounds in
th» language ; and they linger in the unhabituated ear with an
i^ftiwX which makes the language seem to be almost altogether nasal.
And there can be no doubt that the habit of forming sounds of
thiH mixed and impure character must incline the Frenchman
to give A partial nasality to many other vowels than those which
are Ingitiniately nasal.
With reforenco to the formation of tlie semi-nasal vowels, it is
autUMing to hoo the way in which French grammarians account for
i\mr itaKitl quality. In a woU known grammar of French Rhetoric,
t)y an (eminent and talontod author, wo find the following descrip-
tion of the •• organic formation of French nasal vowels." " The
formation of the nasal sound appears to be generated chiefly from
t!io noHtrils.*' — (all vocal sounds are generated in the glottis,) — "not
that the sound is exhaled from them, as is erroneously supposed by
many, but the air, ascending at first from the lungs to the nose, seems
to acquire there a nasal power ; and, descending afterwards into the
mouth, it produces, coming in contact with the atmosphere, that nasal
sound which, although not very gracious, is sometimes manly and
powerful.*' In giving directions for the formation of these sounds,
the author adds, " Let the air, by an internal motion, be sent im-
mediately from the throat into the nostrils," ♦ ♦ ♦ « it will then
descend into the mouth, and come out with a nasal power."
What a most extraordinary power of direction the French must
possess, if they thus manage to make the obedient vocal stream
flow into the open nostrils without passing through them ! But
the thing is absurd. All the air in the nostrils will ** come in
contact with the atmosphere " from the nose ; it most pass
through, unless the nostrils be plugged up by snuff, or polypus,
pinched with the fingers, or otherwise obstructed. And though
tlie nostrils are obstructed, the voice may still get its '* nasal
ARTICULATIONS. 39
power '* in them ; for, as these elements have a partial chamiel
in the mouth, they are not liable to be more affected by nasal
obstruction than to have their sound slightly muffled. In this re-
spect they are unlike the English elements M, N, and NG, which,
haying no oral opening, must have a free nasal passage, or the
obstructed voice will collect in the pharynx, and become ex-
plosive ; so that M, N, and NG, will be converted into B, D, and
G, with that muffled nasal murmur, with which every sufferer
from ** cold in the head " is quite familiar. The French gram-
marians indeed seem ashamed to confess their obligations to the
nose, though they are clearly indebted to that organ for the
modification of a large proportion of their sounds.
To show the difference in gwan^ift/ between the English and French
nasals, take any words in the two languages, having an equal
number of them, and contrast their pronimciation. The English
word transcendent contains as many nasal elements as the French
transcendant, but they do not produce one fourth of the quantity
of nasal sound ; and many French phrases may be found which do
not contain a single pure vowel, as, for example, ** pendant long
temp;" ** V enfant mangeant son pain J* ^ d/C,
In English, the slightest nasal quality in a vowel is an impurity
and a barbarism.
We have been led into a longer notice of these French sounds
tiian might have been expected or considered necessary in this
work ; but it is because we have seen no just explanation of these
peculiar sounds in French grammars, but, on the contrary,
erroneous theories of their formation, and inadmissible com-
parisons of them with the English nasals. We believe we have
shown that the French language has double the number of nasal
elements that occur in English ; that the quantity of nasal sound
in French is far more than double that in English ; and that the
French language is altogether deficient of that most expressive
articulation, which is represented by the digraph NG, in English.
ARTICULATIONS.
All actions of the vocal organs which partially or wholly
obstruct, or which compress the breath or voice, are called articu-
lations. The necessary effect of such obstruction or compression,
is a degree of explosiveness in the breath, when the conjoined or
40 ARTICULATIONS,
approximated organs are separated. Heuce arises an element of
audibility, produced by, or within the mouth, which we have
stated to be the distinguishing characteristic of this class of the
elements of speech.
When the current of breath (unvocalized) is altogether stopped
by organic contact, as in P, T, K, the only audibility that the
letter so formed can have, is the puff or explosion which follows
the separation of the organs. This must, therefore, be clearly
heard, or the letter is practically lost. In the mode of producing
this little effect, lies one of the most important principles of
speech, — ^a principle on the right application of which depends
much of a speaker's distinctness, and all his ease. We shall here,
therefore, endeavour to give an intelligible explanation of this
principle, and we shall occasionally hereafter refer to it, that
this new and important subject may have a due degree of
prominence.
Let the student pronounce a word ending with P, T, or K, —
as lip, lit, lick, — and endeavour to make the final letter as long
as possible : — ^he will find he only prolongs silence ; for, until the
articulating organs are separated, there is no sound of voice or
breath audible. The separation of the organs, after contact, is
thus necessary for these letters ; and on this disjunction the com-
pressed air within the mouth will make its escape. Now, here
lies the point of importance. If only the breath in the mouth, and
not that in the lungs be ejected, a distinct, sharp, quick per-
cussion will be heard, which gives to these shut breath articulations
all the audibility of which they are susceptible. A glottal action
to check the issue of breath from the lungs, and a retained expansion
of the chest, to prevent its undue pressure upon the lungs, must
take place at the instant of separation of the articulating organs.
The explosive effect of the letters will then be smartly produced,
and with almost no expenditure of breath.
The common error opposed to this may serve to make the
principle more intelligible. It consists in allowing the chest
to fall, and in continuing the flow of breath after the separation
of the organs, as in the effort to make a prolonged H, thus : —
lip^hr-, lit-hr-, lick-h-, &c. The letters are by this fault deprived
of their essential percussive quality, and the resources of the
strongest lungs are drained most exhaustingly ; and (in public
speaking) to the great injury of pulmonary health.
ARTICULATIONS. ' 41
This very fault jmechanism of these letters, is almost always found
in cases of stammering ; and, in a certain degree, it prevails among
all speakers who complain of weak voices, or of exhaustion from
vocal effort.
It may be asked, by what means this explosive effect can
be produced, if the expiratory muscles, acting on the chest and
diaphragm, are not to cause the ejection of air from the lungs ?
The Divine Contriver of the wondrous mechanisms which compose
the human frame, has not left us unprovided with a safe and
effectual means of energetic utterance, — so often in His providence
rendered necessary, — but has furnished us with an explosive
apparatus, — subsidiary to that of the chest, — by whose action
man can thunder forth His awful threatenings, or give inviting
earnestness to His gracious invitations ; without, in the perform-
ance of these duties, endangering pulmonary health, or, in any
way, rendering the work of public expostulation insalubrious or
painful. Those speakers who complain of weak and powerless
articulation, and of pain after protracted or forcible efforts, are
sufferers only from ignorance. An organ of power lies dormant
witliin them, the want of whose natural action is painfully and
ineffectively supplied by unnatural and debilitating efforts of the
organs of respiration. This explosive apparatus is the Pharynx,
a distensible muscular cavity situated at the back of the mouth ;
below which is the glottis, in front of it the mouth, and opening
from it above, are the nares or nostrils. When the soft palate
covers the upper pharyngeal openings, — the nares, — the effort
of expiration sends the breath into the mouth, wliere, if it be
obstructed in its passage, it will collect ; and it should distend
the pharynx to a greater or less extent, according to the degree
of oral contraction or obstruction, and the force of expiratory
pressure. When the oral obstruction is complete, — as in forming
P, T, K, B, D, G, — the ])harynx should so dilate with the
momentary pressure of breath, that on the separation of the
articulating organs, the natural contraction of the pharyngeal
muscles should effect the percussive audibility of the letters.
When the lips are in firm contact, as for P, a sufficient pressure
of breath must cause distension either of the cheeks, the lips, or
the pharynx. Here, then, is an outward index by which any
person may direct his own practice for the acquirement of
pharyngeal power. Give all possible stress to the effort of
F
42 ARTICULATIONS.
expiration while the lips are steadiltf closed, aiid if the cheeks and
lipis be not allowed to inflate, the pharynx will distend, and may
be felt difcitending by grasping the neck close to the chin. After
CQUXiutiing the expiratory pressure for a few seconds, quicklj
ieparate the lips, and allow the breath within the month to
escape, but voiihaui being followed by ike least emission from the
gkfUis, The same mode of practice may then be adopted with
ihn actkmif T and K^ and with the correspondent vocal forms of
tJjie«e articulations, as explained farther on.
The want of pliaryngeal power manifests itself in various ways :
by dit^utAou of the lips and cheeks for P, B, as aboye noticed ;
by pff/trusion of the tongue, with incontinency of breath, for T,
K, IP, () ; by la^iorious actions of the chest and diaphragm, to
artntUf i}m explosive audibility of these letters ; by their frequent
h$M^MhhiM*',nn from feebleness of action ; by scattering the saliva
ffff H, V, and 'ither f;<intinuous elements ; and by general indis-
tiw^iu^fvt iff articulation, and visible laxity of the lips and tongue.
pVmn a fMrnyntmAy lumpish and lazy appearance to the mouth.
T)m9 ':'/iitifiuouM tiHe of the chest instead of the pharynx, would
Im^ pft'iiifiilly fatiguing in speech ; and its inordinate employment
tu fiffi'MtUi iitU^rarice, tmsmn to be often productive of serious pul-
It ii» diin<;ult Ut make thin Hubject sufficiently clear by a brief
'ii9iM;rijHi4/n ; and it wouM l>e still more difficult perhaps to get
U^i^ gAjia'rality <;f readern to study a lengthened explanation : but
N^itij a littk^ tli4>ught, and a little experiment, what we have said
wili ^nfHiA'Ai. An an inducement to those who feel interested in
Uui Dul;je<;t, to heatoYf u|K>n it the necessary attention, we may add,
Uiat ti*e praAitkul efl'ect of the closure of the glottis, buoyancy of
tlie client, and pro|)er pharyngeal action of which we have spoken, is
uiu'Ai HH to enable a \}Qrium to enounce with each expiration, eight or
ten tinieii hm many syllables as he could without these measures.
The difforence between the two modes of articulation is indeed
preciHely analogous to tliat between the two obvious methods of
extinguishing a iluine of gas — namely, blowing out the flame, and
turning off the gas by the stop-cock. The former method would
tell ex[>ensively upon tlie meter, and the analogous mode of
flnishing articulations, acts most destructively upon the lungs.
A common defect in the formation of P, T, K, consists in making
these letters merely stops of the voice, without any audible effect
ARTICULATIONS. 43
in themselves. This arises generally from feebleness of action —
from organic indolence. If it were confined to conversational
carelessness, it would be less worthy of notice ; but it is too
common even in public speaking, and it is then very manifestly
a defect. Pronounce the syllables ap, at, ak, without the ex-
plosive finish which we have stated to be essential to the
correct formation of these letters, and it will be a very sharp and
attentive ear which can recognise a difference between them.
The public speaker must not trust to such a degree of eager
watchfulness in his hearers to unriddle his ambiguities. His
mouth must be so trained as to utter no '* uncertain sounds."
The organs employed in forming the shut articulations P, T, K,
are the lips, for the first, — the fore part of the tongue and front of
the palate, for the second,— -and the back of the tongtie and palate,
for the last. The mode of articulation is, complete and firm con-
tact of the organs, with pressure of breath, followed by the rapid
disjunction of the organs; — ^the disjunctive action being made
€mdible by the percussive ejection of the breath that is com-
pressed between the glottis and the articulating organs. This
perfect contact, we designate the
First Mode op Articulativb Action.
P, T, K, are shut breath articulations. If while the organs
are in contact for their formation, we make an exertion of voice,
we shall convert them respectively into B, D, G ; which are there-
fore shut Voice Articulations of the same mechanism as P, T, E.
It is important to have the power of producing the shut voice in
these elements fully and firmly. The sound cannot be prolonged
indefinitely ; it can only be continued while the cavity of the
pharynx— into which the vocal stream is forced — is capable of
receiving more breath. The student may, by grasping his neck
close to the chin, feel the effect of the pharyngeal distention
which takes place in these elements. The explosive finish of the
articulations must be heard the same as in P, T, K,
Many persons are unable to produce voice in these shut articu-
lations ; and consequently numerous words containing them are
liable to be confounded with such as have the correspondent
breath forms in the same combinations — as dart with tart, daunt
with taunt, bill with pill, brawn with pravm, gold with cold, glass
with class, &c. The Welsh always thus mispronounce English ;
but a little elementary practice will supply the deficient power
44 ARTICULATIONS.
to any person who is conscious of the defect, and desirous of its
correction.
In practising for the acquirement of vocal power in these
letters, care must be taken that the soimd does not find yent
through the nostrils.* The expansion of the pharynx and the
explosive cessation of contact, will be sufficient to keep the stu-
dent from this fault.
P, T, K, are commonly called mutes, and B, D, G, semi-mutes ;
the extraordinary name " demi-semi-YOwmiS," is given to them in
Chambers's Elocution ; sometimes these terms are exchanged for
sharp and flat, hard and soft, <€?c. ; but such names are unphiloso-
phical and worthless, as they convey no just idea of the real
difference between the elements. From the existence of such a
nomenclature, it would seem as if a veil of most impenetrable
mystery shrouded the vocal principles from observation — or else,
as if those who have invented and applied the names had never
troubled themselves to become observers at all. Such descriptions
as the following do not certainly indicate a very great depth of
observation. We quote from well known books of reference ; and
counterparts may be seen under many authorships.
" B is pronounced by pressing the whole length of the lips
together, and forcing them open with a strong breath."
•* P is formed by a slight contraction of the anterior part of the
lips."
** D is a, dental articulation, having a kind of middle sound be-
tween the t and th ; its sound being formed by a stronger impulse
of the tongue to the upper part of the mouth than is necessary in
the pronunciation of «."
** T is numbered among the mutes or close articulations ; and
it differs from D chiefly in its closeness, the strength with
which the breath is emitted in pronouncing t, being all that dis-
tinguishes them."
** jfiT is usually denominated a guttural, but is more properly a
palatal, being formed by pressing the root of the tongue against
the upper part of the mouth, with a depression of the lower jaw, and
opening of the teeth."
* In Chambers's Elocution, the student is actually directed to commit this
barbarism. We read as follows : " The same disposition of the organs (as for
P, T, K,) with the sound directed to go forth partly through the nose, and
partly through the mouth, form B, D, and the sound of G in game."
ARIICULATIONS. 46
'* Q has two sounds ; one called that of the hard G, because it
is formed by a pressure, somewhat hard, of the fore part of the
tongue against the upper gum. The other sound, called that of the
soft G, resembles that of J. " Then, if we turn to J, to be informed
what this indefinable sound of soft G=J is, we are told, — " J has
invariably the same sound with that of ^ in giant."
B and P are thus made to differ only in the quantity of lip
compressed : D has a stronger impulse of the tongue than t, and
is a middle sound between t and th ; while, we are told, t is dis-
tinguished from d by nothing else than the strength with which
the breath is emitted. No analogous connexion is hinted at with
reference to k and g ; but, on the contrary, k is said to be formed
by the root of the tongue acting upwards, and g by the fore part
of the tongue acting forwards. In the latter case, the writer has
evidently been thinking of the name of the letter (je®») though,
strangely enough, this illustrates the "soft" sound of the letter.
" Hard G" does not employ the fore part of the tongue, or the
upper gum at all.
To those who really want the information, such careless mis-
direction must be most perplexing. No variation of the mode, or
degree of labial contact, would ever convert pillow into Jillow, or
Munder into plunder ; nor could any alteration of lingual pressure,
or strength of expiration ever make tame become (2ame, or (drudge
trudge. P and B, T and D, K and G, are pairs of articulations
formed by exactly the same organic motions, the only difference
being in the material which the actions modify ; whispered breath,
in the one case, loocalized breath, in the other.
Every possible action of the mouth may modify breath or voice,
and thus, from each action may be produced two distinct elements
of speech. The classification into Breath and Voice Articula-
tions thus reduces the number of the elemental actions of speech
to half its apparent amount.
The above six letters, (three formations,) are all the English
articulations which altogether obstruct the breath ; and indeed it
may be questioned whether there can be any other obstructive
articulation produced by the mouth. Minute differences in these
formations* there may be in different languages, but we believe
* In English usage we sometimes have the formation T-D, finished by the
extrusion of the breath over the sides of the tongue, while the fore-part remains
on the palate ; this occurs only before I in the same word, as in hndle^ sadrf/n*,
1.
2. 8.
cpe
ip ape
ete
It ate
eke ik ake
12.
13.
ope
<oop
(56p
ote
(66t
'J65t
oke
ook
55k
obe
dob
46 ARTICULATIONS.
there can be no organically distinct articulation of this class iu
anj language.
We subjoin a table of the six shut articulations, in combination
with the thirteen English vowels, which we commend to the
student's practice. He should take one syllable at a time, and
reiterate it as often as he can with one breath, giving a strongly
percussive finish to the articulation. The number he can ma-
nage will afford a sure test of his power to regulate the breath,
the chest, and the glottis. With a little practice, after he has
acquired the knack of striking off the articulations without waste,
he should be able to produce, with energy and ectse, from 60 to
80 or 100 repetitions of the syllables with each expiration.
Vowels 1. 2.8. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11.
Sp ap asp arp iip (urp ( awp —
( up ( op —
St St ast art lit jurt ( awt ort
I at I 6t
Sk 9k ask ark Irk ^urk ( awk ork
X^k I 6k
ebe lb abe Sb &b — arb irb ^urb ( awb —
I lib t 5b —
ede id ade Sd &d — ard ird ^urd ( awd oard ode (ood
( tid I 5d (55d
eag ig aig ^g )ig — arg irg (urg V awg — oag oog
\ ug ( 5g
These three organic actions yield another set of elements
by direction of the voice into the nostrils, while the mouth is shut
up. From the labial formation P-B, is produced in this way, M ;
from the anterior lingual formation T-D, is produced N ; and
from the posterior lingual formation K-G, is produced NG.
The actions of the mouth for M, N, and NG are precisely the
same as for B, D, and G : and though the former gain but little
audibility by the cessation of contact, yet they cannot, any more
than the latter, be considered finished until the organs are sepa-
rated. There is breath within the mouth, pressing against the
conjoined organs, as well as a free current in the nostrils : and
though the voice may be perfectly finished by merely closing the
glottis, the Articulation would be imperfect, if the breath within
medley, cattfe, motley, hntler, &c. We also permit the explosive effect of
these letters to be heard in the nose, before n in the same word, as in bidden,
midnight, mutton, fitness, &c. In separate word% however, tlie t and d
before I and n must be regularly finished.
ARTICULATIONS, 47
the moath were not allowed to escape. There is thus a slight —
but very slight — effect of breath heard on the organic separation,
as in come, sun, tongue, &c. : it does not amount to an explosion,
as in the other letters of this mechanism, because there is no
sufficient obstruction to create ezplosiveness, — but it is an audible
effect; and when a vowel follows the articulation, this slight ex-
pression of breath gives a sharpness and closeness of connexion
to the combination, which would be wanting, if the nasal sound
were stopped in the glottis before the organic disjunction. This
principle is important to distinctness, and it is especially so in
cases of difficult articulation.
In finishing these nasal elements, the soft palate must not be
allowed to cover the nares before the articulating organs are
separated ; for a momentary closure will produce the explosive
effect of B, D, and G. A tendency to compress the breath in
this way is especially felt in ng, in the formation of which the
tongue and soft palate are in contact, and so already in the posi-
tion for G, to which it is consequently more easily convertible than
the other nasal letters are to their explosives.
Many English mouths, particularly London ones, are so much
in the habit of finishing ng with a g, that they seem, even after
many attempts, utterly unable to make the nasal element singly.
Singer, hanger, &c. they pronounce as perfect rhymes to finger,
anger, &c. The opposite fault prevails in Scotland, where the
latter words are pronounced so as to rhyme with the former.
The error, in both its phases, is easily susceptible of correction.
The student should assure himself by experiment, of his power
to finish the nasal articulations by the audible, yet inexplosive,
separation of the organs. A little exercise of this kind will correct
any faulty habit he may have acquired in the formation of these
important elements of speech. Let the following table be slowly
and attentively practised.
Vowels 1. 2. 3, 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11.12. 13.
eem im aim Sm &in * arm irm \ urm < awm orm ome oom
( Qm ( 5m
een In ain Sn Sn * am Trii ( urn \ awn orn one 66n
( tin ( 5n
• ing * * &ng * * * ting 8ng * * *
* The final articulation docs not occur iu English, in combination with this
vowel.
48 ARTICULATIONS.
These three nasal articulations are the only elements which em-
ploy the nose in English. We have correctly no semi-nasal sounds
as in French : and if there can be no other obstructive articulation
than those we have enumerated, there cannot be any other purely
nasal element in any language : for the breath must be in some
way obstructed by the mouth, before it can be directed entirely
into the nostrils.
The English nasals are all voice articulations. It is, however,
possible to form them with unvocalized breath, and bad speakers
often do so : but our language does not recognise such sniffling
among its sounds. In Gaelic, there seems to be, or to have been,
an aspirate form of the nasal letters : mh is a common digraph
in that language, but it is now generally sounded v, with this
peculiarity, that it nasalizes the adjoining vowel.
We have now seen from three articulations of the mouth, no
fewer than nine distinct elements of speech produced. There are
in English fifteen other articulate elements; these are the result
of only nine actions ; six of which are used to modify both voice
and breath, and three to modify voice only.
The remaining articulations are all continuous ; they have oral
apertures more or less free for the emission of the breath or voice.
They may be divided into close and open continuous elements ;
and, organically, into those formed by approximation, vibration, or
partial contact of the articulating organs.
The nasal "liquids" M, N, NG, and the oral "liquid" L, we
call OPEN, because their channels of sound are so open that the
breath does not produce upon the organs any vibratory or rustling
effect, as it does in all the other continuous elements, which are
therefore called close.
Second Mode of Articulative Action. — Approximation.
The nine articulations we have described, viz. P, B, M ; T, D,
N ; K, G, NG ; are formed, as we have shown, by organic
contact Similar dispositions of the mouth, but with the organs
in close approximMion only, will furnish us with a series of
elements of the continuous class. Thus, when the positions P,
T, K, are loosely assumed, so that the breath is not altogether
shut in, a set of articulative breathings will be produced ; the
first of which resembles F, the second a whispered R, and the
third the German or Scotch Ch.
Neither of these is heard in English. Among individual
ARTICULATIONS. 49
peculiarities, the first is sometimes met with instead of F ; the
second is found in Welsh and Gaelic, represented by Rh ; and
the third is common in all the Scottish dialects, in the German,
the Spanish, and many other languages.
The breath may be vocalized with the organs in these positions,
and another set of elements will be produced, of which the
second will be recognised as the smooth br English R ; the first
resembles V*, and is one mode in which that letter is sometimes
faultily articulated ; and the third occurs, we believe, in the Russian,
and in other strongly aspirated languages. It is also not un-
frequently heard as a cacophonic substitution for R, — ^in which
ciCse it may be considered as a smooth burr ; bearing the same re-
lation to the uvular rattle, that the English R does to the rough
rolling continental R.
If the lips, from the first of these continuous positions, be slightly
opened, so as to form a central aperture, rather more oval in
shape, they will then be in the position from which Wh and W
are struck off by an abrupt compressive action. The absence of
this action removes the articulative quality, — compression and
explosiveness of breath, — and reduces W to the vowel oo, and wh
to a sort of semi- whistle.
The tongue may be approximated to the palate at different
points. If, from its position at R, it be advanced a little towards
the upper gum, but still in approximation, and having a very con'
traded central aperture for the passage of the breath, the hissing
sound of S will be produced. The horizontal position of the
tongue for this element requires the teeth to be very closely
approximated, — but without touching: if the jaws are too
much apart, the tongue cannot sufficiently contract the sibilant
perture, and too much breath escapes ; while if the teeth are
perfectly closed, the breath is forced to pass through their
interstices, and thus acquires a lisping modification from the
teeth.
* The letter 6 in Spanish often has this inexplosive mode of articulation. The
Spanish soft sound of B is commonly thought to be the same as our English V;
but we mistake if its true formation is not this close mutual approximation
of the lips. The effect of the articulation is sufficiently like that of V to be
easily mistaken for it.
G
60 ARTICULATIONS.
This articulatiye action, giving sibilation to a stream of voice,
produces Z.
If, from the position S, the point of the tongue be drawn
inwards, so as to remove the seat of articulation further back on
the tongue and palate, and at the same time enlarge the aperture
for the breath, the sound of Sh will be produced. The change
trcim S to Sh is analogous to that already noticed, from the First
Labial Continuous formation to the semi-whistle Wh ; for Sh, too,
is a semi-whistling sound : a further enlargement of the aperture of
either element produces a labial or lingual whistle.
This articulation modifying voice produces the sound of the
letter Z in azure, which, as the vocal form of 8h, may be con-
veniently represented by Zh, This is the sound of the letter J in
French.
If the middle of the tongue be now approximated to the palate,
at a point intermediate to Sh, and the Third Continuous formation
(C%, Oer,), it will be in the position for the articulation of Y, as
heard (without voice) in Aue, Aew, &c., and (with voice) in you,
ftie, cue, pew, tuae, duke, &c. This is almost the position for the
vowel e : — y, (vocal) prolonged, gives the sound of a contracted e,
— the vowel being slightly depraved in quality by the audible
rustling of the breath over the too closely approximated tongue.
Another set of articulations, — ^if they are worthy of the name, —
may be produced by so loosely approximating the organs that a
sufficiently strong current of air will cause them to vibrate and
flap against each other.
When the back of the tongue and soft palate are thus loosely
appro^^nated, the relaxed edges of the latter, and especially its
narrow prolongation, the uvula, are easily thrown into vibration
against the tongue, and the Northumbrian burr is produced.
When the fore-part of the tongue, — similarly relaxed, — is laid
along the edge of the palatal arch, a smart stroke of the
breath will set it in vibration, and the rough R, as heard in
Scotland, and in most of the continental languages, will result.
This sort of articulation may be performed, too, by the lips.
ARTICULATIONS. 51
If thej lie loosely together, a stroug breath will produce upon
them the barbarous effect of a vibration, or flapping, pre-
ciselj analogous to that of the burr and rough R. This sound,
fortunately, is not heard in any language with which we are
acquainted. Probably its absence, while the two other — ^kindred
sounds — are common, results from the greater difficulty of pro-
ducing the labial vibration ; as the force of the breath is dissipated
in the mouth before it reaches the lips.
R is called the canine, or dog's letter ; but the name is strictly
applicable only to the hurr^ which is precisely the same in
mechanism as the snarl of a cur. There is not much dignity,
however, in this mode of articulation by any organism, though
the lengthened R (not the burr) may be expressive enough in
some words, as in the " rude rolling of a rebel drum,*'
The polishers of continental language might do well to imitate
the English in their treatment of this cur-related sound, and, as
Macbeth did physic, ** throw it to the dogs.''
Third Mode op Articulative Action.
Another, and the last variety of articulative action, consists in
partial contact of the organs, so that the breath finds no central
passage, and consequently escapes by lateral apertures.
There is no element formed in this way by the root of the
tongue and soft palate : the nature of the organs does not admit
of this mode of articulation.
The fore-part of the tongue applied to the palate, with lateral
apertures free, produces L. This articulation is always vocal in
English, but, in Welsh, the breath form is a very common element
— represented by II. The voice channels of the English L are
so open that there is no vibratory effect created by the passage of
the breath. The sound is as pure as that of any vowel,* and, but
for the action necessary to complete the element, it would be
classed among the vowels. Its fluency of combination with other
articulations has given it (with n, w, ng,) the name of liquid,
* All the vowel soands may be produced with the tongae on the palate, as
in L. The lateral apertures can be sufficiently modified to form every shade of
sound, from e to ah ; and, with the aid of the lips, from ah to oo ; and the
intermediate varieties of vowel sound can also be very con-ectly imitated without
removing the point of the tongue from the palate. There is even very little
peculiarity in the vowels — singly produced — by this mechanism.
.•. *•• »"■*''!
T. wnh
the
Y :nat
i-^*'
^Vw
jpper
: t the
■I th.
- *. • -tu ■ i^i*- Z^
r ..
ft/'.
.>• <k<
«
■s > -■'vv
* . ■ V
» ' \
m
■v rraor ««Tr '.'«ai Lave
. .-i «a» :'<^ .'xaassBoiT ^nh
A JsaiML '.wi '.oefT • wn
lis ot
•y '^^ X *V ■ s«
. i«^ srfVr
^.^ .^, *vv » .gwf» *i^i«^
■- V
f- X'
LV <w «•
ARTICULATIONS.
63
Brbath. Voice. Nasal.
fP B fM..
■•A
o
g
OD
O
4» .
eg ^
'§1
as
^T
.D
OQ
O
H
<
O
M
H
K G
'(Ph) (Bh)(8p«i.hB)
Eh R (smooth).
Ch(o«nii«i) Gh
a
•I
r S
ca
-^ Wh
S...,
I
-«1
.w.
z..
Sh.
.Zh.
»^ a
o
1j
Hy Y
f(KRh) GR(burr).,
(Rh) R(rough),
=lip vibration=
fLl{Wel8h)L
=contracted L (o^iic)
3 c
Ah 8
-!
Th,
.Th.
[
N
Ng.
.2
.3
.4
.5
.6
.7
.8
.9
10
.11
.12
.13J
.14
.15
.16
.17
9
a
o
I'
OS
a-
I
Note, — ^The three nasals, M, N, and Ng, though orally obstractive, mre in
effect continuous^ and may be ranked with those elements that have
partial contact. They are here placed on the same Une with the
obstmctives, to show that their oral mechanism is the same.
Of these thirty-seven articulations, twenty- four (twelve actions)
are elements of English speech. One of these, however, (No. 12,
voice) — ^the rough R — is used only for purposes of effect and
imitative expression.
We shall now range the English articulations in the order of
their formation ; beginning with those that are formed farthest
within the mouth, and proceeding outwards to the labial articu-
lations.
54 ARTICULATIONS.
English Articcxations.
Breath. Voke.
OnL Oral.
K G NG
H(ew) Y =
• 7
8h Zh
i (rough).,
9
.R (smooth).
10
.L.
11 IS 13
T D N
8 Z
Th(in) Th(en) =
18 19
F V =
90 91
Wh W.
9S 94
B M
We have elsewhere shown (page 12) the defective waj in
which these twentj-four articulations are represented bj our
alphabet. The alphabet contains almost characters enough ; for
it has 21 letters to represent this class of elements : but of these,
two— namely, C and Q — are altogether redundant; and two more
— namely, J and X — are marks of combinations, and not simple
elements ; so that we have, in reality, only seventeen appropriate
characters by which to write all our articulations. With what ir-
regularity these letters are used in the notation of our language
will be seen in a subsequent chapter.
The following extract is marked to show the primary distinction
between Breath and Voice Articulations. The articulations
which have a glottal, as well as an oral audibility, are printed
in italics. Those not so printed are breath articulations, — that
is, they have an oral audibility alone. In reading this illustra-
tion, the voice should be given as purely and distinctly as possible.
• ARTICULATIONS. 56
Note. — R is not au articulation except when before a vowel ; and, if the pre-
ceding vowel is long, the R has then both its vowel and articulative
effect, as in vaRy, — in which case it is represented by a capital letter. The
letter u, when sounded alphabetically, represents the articulation Y^ and
the vowel oo,, — to denote which, it is printed in capital: after </, always,
and, in a few cases, after other articulations, u has the power of w.
The letters e and i, when before a vowel, have sometimes the power of
Y,— instances are marked by capitals. The letter o in one represents
9
wu, — to denote which, the o is made capital.
Great Effects from Littlb Causes.
Nothing created is ^reat or little, except comparatively, and in
relation to its effects, and the tnetbod of its operation. The
quantity of caforic in the whole world, if it te^ere expressed, and
could he condensed by some Faraday or Thitorier on One scale of
the most dedicate of balances, would not make it kick the beam so
sensi&Zy a^ the thinnest &reath of air, if at all ; t^t ^t ^tent
heat is so magnificent in power, that certain local distur6ance« of
its equilibrium are productii?e of earthqt^akes and volcanoes : and
Njswton used to 6oast, with that quiet pfea^ntry of illustration
which was as characteristic of him as his sure induction, that, if
he loere the master o/fire, he could pack the planet in a nut-she^Z.
E^tricity, too, is said to be imponderadZe ; but the sudden re-
storation 0/ the interrupted ^Zance 6etu;een such qtiantitie« 0/
the subtiZe fluid as are contained in opposing clouds,'^themsehe8
so (fiminutii^e in comparison with the body of the earth, — is the
cause of the thunder storm.
The very direction in which a power i^ appfied, or in which a
KToight is allowed to operate, is so immensely more si^ificant
than the toeight itseZf, that Archimedes, after hainn^ showered
impondera&fe arrows 0/ sunfire on the enemies 0/ Syracuse, and
turned up t^ir vessels of U7ar, toanted &ut a point to p2ant his
fe«er, in order to move the world mth his puny arm ! What is
the KToight 0/ u^ter with which TTatt cSps thick iron, ^e paper,
into shreds ; and sends his hu^e feviathans, thro&Mn^ in their ir-
resistible struggle^ across the Atlantic, with all but the regularity
of the freighted pZanets themselves ! Are not a fsw pounds of
56 ARTICULATIONS.
tveight transformed into tons, by the mere (disposition of them by
Brakmah, on the principle 0/ the old hydrostatic paradox ?
Paradox ! One bad thought the da,y of paradoxes t/^as over for
ever now. Everything ^reat is a paradox at first ; ^cause our
own ignorance makes it strange.
Illustrations 0/ the manifestations ofgre&t forces by little bodies
way &e dra,wn from the re^on of pure physics. Davy, fearh^ly
following the principte o/etectricaZ induction by contact, cfiscovered
that half-a-do^en sqt&are feet of the copper sheatMn^ of the British
fleet are rendered etectro-ne^ative by a ^nc nsM driven through
the centre 0/ the space, and are thereby protected from the
corrosive action of the sea with its stores of oxygen, ch^nne, and
ioc^ne, everywhere ready to be let loose upon metaZ2ic su&stances.
iViay, Sir John Hersche2? finds tha,t the relation to efectricity of a
mass of mercury is such, <Aat it may be reversed by the admixture
of an almost infinitesimal proportion of a &ody, such as potassium,
in an opposite electricaJ condition. So impressed is he with this
clsLSB of o&servations as to o&serve, '' iTAat such minute proportions
of extraneous matter should be found capa6fo of communicating
sensi^^e mechanical motions and properties, o/a definite character,
to the body they are mixed mth, is perhaps One of the most extra-
orcfinary facts ^Aat has appeared in chemistry.*'
Everything thsat has been said a&out materia? forms, into which
the breath of life has not been inspired, must be affirmed, and
more ur^entZy affirmed, of the living frame, idth its fearful, though
harmonious complication. The physician and his forces have to
desd with a quivering epitome 0/ sM the species 0/ suscepti&ifity
in creation. One kind reacting on anotter, so as to produce a com-
bination 0/ harmony so highly strung, ^Aat the prick 0/ a pin shaZZ
^rate upon ov&ry fi6re, and a cooZin^ odour, in a hot atmosphere,
impart refreshment and deZight to every nerve. According to the
experiments o/2/euchs, if f^ ten thousand two hundredth part o/a
^rain 0/ tartrate 0/ mercury be diffused through the su&stance o/a
sweet pea, the ftEautifuZ^erm o/a ^racefuZ f Zoweuin^herft, which Zie«
ARTICULATIONS. 67
foUhd up within its horny pericarp, shM never come out anJ 6e
expsLndedy ^Aough ^ou incto^e it in the softest mou^d, n,nd soKcit it
by every art. before Anciroc^us will a Kon, mth a paltry thorn
in his roysil palm, crouch in his rock-buiift paZaco, and hutn6?y
crai^e deZiverance fi'Otn the insignificant prickte tAat has unstrung
his fi&rous frame. J?ut man is a creature 0/ such exquisite and
fnanifoM sensi&i^itj to the agency of even physical re-a^ents, thsX,
when the compacted &a(^ance 0/ M the parts is distur&ed in any
One way, and idiosyncrasy is produced, the feel o/velvet produces
nausea in some ; a professor 0/ natural phifosophy faints under a
spri^ 0/ ^Dender ; an Eaasmus cannot so much as taste fish
t&i^^ut a fever ; a Cardinal Hauy de Cardonne stcoons at the
smell of a rose ; a ScaZi^er faZ^s into convuifsions at the sight 0/
cresses ; and a Tycho ^rahe tremfttes in the awfuiJ presence 0/ a
hare. — Dr Samuel Brown.
Elementary Instruction in Speech.
It really seems strange that speech, — a power so common and so
invaluable, a thing " in every body's mouth," should not have been
taught to us elementarily ; and, in looking back over the pages
of this chapter, very strange it certainly appears, that there should
be such a phenomenon in cultivated society, as a person incapable
of sounding an S, an L, an R, or any of the simple elements
correctly : yet we have even public teachers — in almost every
department of knowledge — exhibiting in their utterance such
shameful incapacities, in great variety, and vitiating by their high
example the taste and habits of extensive listening circles ; so that
it is really thought no disgrace to be a burrer, a lisper, a mumbler,
a drawler — ^to twang words i' the nose, to scream, and roar, to
foam, to squeak, to whine, to mouth, and otherwise so to abuse
the glorious faculty of speech, that, with Shakspeare, we may say,
it seems as if ** some of Nature's journeymen had made men, and
not made them well,-^they imitate humanity so abominably."
The reason of the general ignorance of speech, from which such
a state of things results, is, we are told, just the very commonness
of the faculty, which seems to render the subject below scientific
inquiry. But is it therefore unworthy of being understood ?
Why then were not scientific men satisfied with seeing and hearing
U
nMHlt : Wf>iiittrlhi aieriuBDcaL itfaipGB2ifiii»«]C jdobu.
avCimibdin^ gnaapieat le iereiiipefi, murii vmM laaii 31 Titrha
niKal Imn^nOMv^ 30 lesm -mmdiwfnisnd isaatLzbrnsL :fiai« iii<i^oes>f
X mhjpKt m little ^fxpiored. 'sad. io 'ipczi id jpeatxuiuv ia^> aK
in 'ihe yrrUnatrj 3io#ie ^if ^■li'aiThmg ihiliirai oi ceatL :im <:EA:Qi-
d«>i, .i«rf9mir:lj attezuimff jut leiBfTtm jrriuienip&T;. irs nillj
laid in dw Icarosr « -wnj, ^ m ^Xi rndke ji» ^atzk 'nuf ^f 3» mzscfc
^litvtiierj 2M ^0mmh]B. Wiac i» called •^^mMoi^ZB^ in^onirtBoiL s
anC iorb.— ywir '^faiidziaL hare so reaHj eiemffirarr inscnuccaiB. m
fpenfM. Tlutj ass zaxudv^ the alphalMCp. fiudi 3* ic x& : bat cbej ase
IMC tsuigtit an alphabet 'if mmnds. T!iej are tangle is nusur che
liict^n ; diac ui oi ^aj, :iiej ar« nang^c s asismnace vidt tke
f^harai^tim^ a let af or/irdkr bj ▼fuck tftej mar in. ame becttme
nffwIMed GO jfp^sak *\f die letasfSy but che j an noc tang&c tiboee
iWBpfe dmtumcarj wuuuiB b^ wbieb cbe j mi^bt ac «ie« b« ^nahini
M jyi^nibciie laantTt'. w diac t±« ebfid bai» not dw anst i&taat
wjfea ^ die nal oh^ec of the ehacMnaers be becooBK fwifrir with,
ft iM:9er ^jaecL enter inco bis amid that thi^ stand %x ao laore
ia ipeeeh dian thMepnffa, andblovs^and bisMS^ and qc&« fans j
fl«M9ee> whidi rbe jonngcst in tiie spfcaol eonld aiake pnfrcdr^and
ipoold flufcie widL aM^ defigbtfid interest ; tbis is alldarkiMas to
Uan :^ — and 'it, b j aMoe accidental raoddaice be twe e n die main
aad ptf)iireref a letter, a raj cf%bt flash npon biai, and he se^ to
tnKe it to tbe tnitb which shot it fiirth, be soongires ap the
teaveh in de^ipair; — tbe fight dis^ipcars at tbe first step frcaa the
ehiah which let it in — and he can see no waj oat of the duaifa
ifm^ ef^ efl^ d^ «, mrt, ea, e, damUt-tss^ (wildencas) bj which he
fade hioMelf iornmnded.
Tbe fine lad period ef his edncation at last orer — he ** hnovs
Ue letten."* Uafortonatelj, howera, he discoTers that he is
thia hardlj in the leart adianced in the art of reading, bat baa a
aew taefc to lean, and a new relation, in erery new ccmbiBataon
of leiten* One tbii^ howerer. is done, bejond the mastay ctf
the alphabeiie names ; he has learned to ifom without aader-
ARTICULATIONS. 59
standing — to know without knowing what; — and he is therefore
prepared to apply what he knows in anj waj he may be told,
without inquiring, oc caring, to learn, the Aou; and whtf, A
foundation is laid for a mindless after-course. The school he
either dislikes, or loves only for its opportunities of social mischief ;
till in due course he '* finishes his education," and leaves the
school — ^with a certain amount of knowledge acquired by dint of
preceptorial authority, but without having learned the pre-emi-
nently important lesson — to teach himself — ^to love knowledge for
its own sake — to have a ** constant care to increase his store" —
and to go on a scholar to the end of his days.
Fraught with consequences momentous as these, is, we believe,
the false initiatory training of the alphabetic class.
An improved orthography would, Ao doubt, be a ready means
of improving this state of matters, — and a very excellent system
of letters has recently been introduced as an experiment ;— -but
we fear existing prejudices will be found too strong to admit of
sufficient reformation in this way. A better use must be made
of present materials.
The rational mode of teaching to read would surely be, to begin
with the mouth, and teach it to speak; — to present, first, to the
imitative aptitude of children the simple elemental sounds of
language, and get them practically mastered orally, before en-
deavouring to teach the eye to recognise their arbitrary symbols.
The sounds should be the first object of the teacher ; and their
practice will be an amusement — not a task — to the children : —
while, in learning them, they may be led on, almost insensibly,
to a knowledge of the alphabetic symbols, and so by a most
agreeable method, and in a very short time, gain all, and mtich
more than all, that is now gained after laborious and protracted
effort on the jJart botli of teacher and pupil.
Distinct and graceful habits of speech, too, would thus be
formed ; the mouth would bo always in advance of the eye ; and
so there would be an end to those abortive moutbings, and to
that hesitancy and stammering which, in a greater or less degree,
are common to all educational tyros now, and which do sometimes
strike root into the muscular and nervous systems, and produce
most pitiable objects in society.
A glance at the pages of English writers of past and present
times will show that innovations in orthography are not to bo
60 ARTICULATIONS.
dreaded as novelties without precedent, and of doabtful conse-
quence. Our language has been, in this respect, in a state of
constant change ; modes of spelling, and modes of pronunciation
too, have had their seasons of fashion and of desuetude : and
people have got on without perplexitj amid their fluctuations, and
have as readily adopted the noTolties, and antiquated their ante-
cedents, as thej have changed the fashions of their garments.
Now, there is less liability to change, and it is more difficult to
effect alterations, on account of the numerous dictionaries which
have given something like a standard to orthography. But even
in these there have been changes, and every new lexicon registers
8(nne alterations. There is, therefore, no ground for a spirit of
' etymological conservatism, opposing improvements as destructive
to long-instituted and time-lionoured modes of spelling. Changes
will take place, and the more the subject of speech is studied, the
more rapid and easy will transitions become, till letters present a
picture of sounds almost as simple as the sounds themselves.
An orthographic reformation is commonly deprecated by the
educated, though none can deny that it would afford the readiest
means of giving the blessings of education to the illiterate. The
various objections urged against a change are all of them selfish
considerations. They possess no weight in comparison with the
great advantages which would result from the adoption of a mode
of spelling correspondent to our actual utterance.
An ill-represonted language is a hindrance to foreign com-
munication ; and this must lead to reformations, as international
intercourse increases. The inconveniences of English orthography
are peculiarly great. The language itself is difficult enough to
foreigners ; but its irregular orthography renders its correct use
almost unattainable to those who are not
" Native here, and to the manner bom." '
The object of the present work is not, however, to attempt a
change in orthographic practice. We believe that a better
acquaintance with the elementary simplicity of speech will in time
work all necessary changes ; and we therefore leave speculative
reformations in the meantime, and confine ourselves to practical
improvements in the use of present materials. We have en-
deavoured to frame from actual observation a complete scheme of
the elements of speech — to show the true powers of our letters, and
so to remedy in some degree those inconveniences which result
QUANTITY. 61
from ignorance superadded to the systematic absurdities which
confessedly characterize our language, as it yainly struggles to pre-
serve an etymological shadow in the Writing, when the substance
has no longer an existence in the Speech.
QUANTITY.
Different degrees of quantity may be recognised in the simple
elements of speech, vowel and articulate, as well as in their sylla-
bic and verbal combinations. Among the English Vowels, singly
uttered, we distinguish three degrees of quantity. The longest
are those vowels which consist of two qualities of sound, viz. —
DIPHTHONGS. They may be composed of either an open vowel taper-
S 1 7 1 7 IS 10 1 12 IS
ing into a closer, as a-e, ah-e, ah-oo, aw-e, o-oo, — heard in ail,
isle, owl, oil, old, — or of any monophthong-vowel flowing into the
8 1848 78 98 10 8
open and peculiar sound er, — as e-er, eh-er, ah-er, uh-er, aw-er,
U 8 13 8
0-er, oo-er, — heard in ear, air, are, urn, drawer, ore, poor. These
are all diphthongs; though only the 2ud, 3rd, and 4th of the first
set Bxe generally enumerated as such.*
The initial elements of all these diphthongs give long monoph-
thongs, which are the next in quantity to the diphthongs. — The
3 1 12 13 4 8 9 8 11 8
first sounds of a-e, o-oo, eh-er, uh-er, o-er, do not occur separately
as long sounds in English : the first two do not occur separately
at all.
The next and shortest class of vowels are those abrupt utter-
ances of voice heard in ill, ell, an, us, on, hook, ^e,, which are
short monophthongs. There is not, as seems to be generally sup-
posed, any degree of duration essential to either of the monophthong
vowels. The longest may be pronounced as shortly as the regu-
larly short sounds ; and any of the latter may be prolonged to
the full quantity of the longest of the former class. Thus, if^we
endeavour to prolong the short monophthongs, or to stop abruptly
the long ones, we shall discover that eh, aw, and oo, are essentially
the same vowel formations as e(ll), o(n), (b)oo(k) ; and also
* In Smart^s Dictionary, the last class of sounds is noticed in the scheme of
Towels, under the separate head of " Vowels which terminate in
Guttural Vibratiok."
\
62 QUANTITY.
that u(8) ifi preciselv the same soiuid as the initial element of the
diphthong ur.
The monophthongs e and ak are nerer abort in accented ejJUte
iu English ; hnt tliat thej can be ahartened as readily afi tiun
which are sometimes long and sometimes short, will be evideiit
from experiment In Scotland their short sonnds are o£ken i i a aid ;
thej constitute, indeed, a main featme in the ScottiBh dialent
The 5th vowel a(D), though always short in English, is often heard
long in Scotland, as in the word fcAer — pron oun ced fi-ther — and
in many words which have the Mi and 7th sounds in Kngfamd
£yen in England, we sometimes hear along fonn of the 5ihyowel«
and regularly in Ireland, in the words otnct, dbant, 4^., jmbs, pfv^
Umgk, hath, 4^. The correct yowel for the former words is mk,
though the intermediate a, heard correctlT in the latter words, ii
perhaps as often used by good speakers.
Among the aehcdlations there are yaiious d^rees of quantity.
The vocal articulations are essentiallj longer than the non-yocal,
but in each class there are yarieties. 1. The Breath ObstrmaHiDm
are th« shortest ; — 2. The LreaUt Comtimmaug elements are the
next longer ; — 3. The Shut Voice ArtieulatUms (the shorteBt of
the vocal elements) are the next; — L The Close, C otOimmmu
Voice ArticulatioHSVre longer still ; and, 5. The Opem Comimmomt^
(or Liquids) are the longest simple articulations. Thus, there
are five degrees of quantitj among the articulations. The foOow-
iug is their arrangement : —
(1.) P, T, K.
(2.) F, Th, S, 6k
(3.) B. D, G.
(4.) V, Th, Z, Zh.
(5.) L, M, N, ng.
It will be observed, that we omit from this taUe W, Wh, T, and
E. The reason is, that these articuladons do not occur after
vowels, but ool/ as initials in English ; and all initial letters,
whether voice or breath, are ilike in quantity.
Tlwfse dilferences of articuladve quantity will be best obsOTved
by prefixing to eM^b articulation the three classes of vowels. The
short YOweU will be found to have degrees of shortness, according
to tim kind of articulation they precede, — ^and the long monoph-
tliofigs and diphthongs will also be found to be considerably
MtcUA in quwitit/ hy the hucceeding articulation. — The follow-
QUANTITY.
63
i|ig Table shows each class of Articulatious iu combiuatiou witli
the Three Varieties of Vowel Quantity. To read over this table
frequently will be a useful exercise both for the ear and the
organs of speech. The whole of the combinations with each
vowel, should be read consecutively — ^that is, the table should
be read line by line, across all the columns, — that the ear may be
enabled to trace the quantitative gradations.
to . ^ tiO bo
.s I g § §
I I I I I I 1 1 1 1
.S « S o
i S S
eS S 5
o S3 "3 "oS "3 *© 35
Jllll
M N S S S
.S S ce P o
«11I1 1
b. ► > > >
.S^ « eS P O
^ bo bp bo bo I
.s s a s sJ
.t; a> eii 3 o
fe's'a's's I
rf^-s-a-a-g^
^.•ttt5t8^^>8
.s- s- &•§•§•
BB B
-B-Q
S> I I 08 O
^bo
•5-0
I 38
> CB q8 O
•^M
tl I
08 8
o
CO
O
2«rt.S0.S30000
c
00
O
o
I
.5 c .s s o o o o
II I I I I I I I I
o
03 «.- 0.5 S'S § I'g
••mi:gl€ III
p
s
o
M
H
PQ
O
$
CQ
i
I I I I I I I I
|-iS.li.sS-iili
'§'fi'fi •S ja •S •£ ■S •S •§
tr^rtrtiri-
64 QUANTITY.
We have now sbowu the essential differences of quantity in the
simple elements of speech. There are others which arise from
the Combination of Letters into Syllables, and Syllables into
Words. And first — What is a syllable ? We have no non-vocal
syllables; t9otce> therefore, is the first requisite; and the syllabic voice
may be either confined to one letter, or distributed among several
letters. The vowel part of a syllable may consist of two elements,
— forming either a closing diphthong , as aye, owe, eye, hoy, how,
&c., or an opening diphthong, as ear, air, ore, your, &c. If such
words as fire, our, &c., which contain three vowel elements, — a
8
closing diphthong followed by the open sound er, — be considered
monosyllables, then the vowel part of a syllable might be said to
contain a triphthong ; but, when these words are fully pronounced,
they are undoubtedly dissyllables, and perfect rhymes to higher,
power^ &c., which are never reckoned monosyllabic words.
In colloquial speech^ fire, higher, our, power, and all words of
this formation, are frequently contracted into one syllabic impulse;
but this is by a slurring of the vowels, so that the close elements
1 18
e and oo are not formed at all ; the first combination ire (7-1-S)
is converted into ah-air (7-4-8) or (7-5-8); and the second com-
bination our (7-13-8) is converted into ahrore (7-1 1-8). From our
account of the formation of these vowels (page 2(}), it will be
found that the mouth undergoes very little increase or diminution
of vowel-aperture in these combinations ; and consequently they
may be uttered with such smooth indefiniteness as to blend into
one concrete utterance, and so form but a monosyllable. Indeed,
the whole of the possible shadings of vowel-sound between ah and
e, or ah and oo, or conversely, might, we conceive, be flowingly
blended into a monosyllabic utterance ; but no return from the
closing progression to an opening one, or conversely, could take
place without destroying the monosyllabic effect.*
♦ Dr Rush, in his excellent and undervalaed work, — " The Philosophy of the
Voice," says, that " It is the concrete function of the voice which alone consti-
tutes a syllable." By the conorete function^ is meant that tapering quality of
all spoken sounds, as distinguished from the even tenor of the sounds of song.
These tapering and even quifities, however, have reference, not to vowel forma'
ftwj, but to musical pitch. All speaking sounds thus taper ^ acutely or gravely^
—while, in song, the sounds maintain, for a definite time, one musical note.
The " unbroken concrete" may, however, be contumed through more than one
syllable :— for mstance, in toy-mg, joy-ous, pray-6st, hij?A-est, show^-y, &c.
What, then, is it that syllables these words ? Is it not the necessary opening
of the sound for the last vowel, after the closing cBphthong which precedes it V
QUANTITY. 66
We have said that the syllabic voice may be either confined to
one letter, or distributed among several. Thus: — Before and
after the vowel may be placed a continuous vocal articulation. Let
iis select, for an example, the vowel ai, toVhich let us add an
initial and final Liquid; — thus, I ai n. This is still one syllable,
and we may prefix and affix to it an Obstructive, — thus, hi ai nd.
A Continuous Voice Articulation might still be added before and
after — though we have not in English any initial continuous
voice articulation followed by an obstructive : — this would give us
the monosyllable zbl ai ndzh. An Obstructive might yet be
added before and after this combination, without destroying the
unity of the syllable, — ^thus, dzblaindzhd. This barbarous-looi-
ing word is not so foreign to our language as at first sight it may
appear. With the exception of the initial dz, the combination is
a perfectly English one. We have the fi/nal combination complete
in such words as cringed, changed, bulged, S^c,
The organs slide from point to point in these clustered articu-
lations, and there is no openness in the sounds. The open con-
tinuous elements (liquids), it will be observed, are immediately
before and after the vowel. They could not be elsewhere without
creating other syllables — because for them the voice has a vowel-
openness and purity. Thus I and n often of themselves make
syllables in English utterance, — ^though not in orthography, — as in
middle, bidden, bible, even, fasten, thistle, ^c*
The liquid I may be prefixed to either of the other liquids in
the same syllable. Thus we still write In and hn, though we no
longer pronounce the former, and only in a few words the latter ;
but neither of the other liquids (which are nasals) can be uttered
before I in one syllable. The reason is, that the nasals shut the
mouth, and are, therefore, before I, which opens a free oral passage,
the same as the obstructives B, D, G. We might then in-
sert I before the n in the illustrative word we have given, and so
* Our orthographic practice refuses to acknowledge any syllable that has
not a vowel letter ; so when we write a vowel with the liquid, Ks in these words,
the syllabic effect of the liquid is not disputed ; but if, as in spasm^ rhythm^ &c.
we write no vowel, then, though the syllabic sound is the very same, we do not
acknowledge the syllable. We grant that listen ^^lis-n is a dissyllable ; but,
with strange — ^ignorant — inconsistency, exclude rhyth-m from the same class,
and call it a monosyllable. Either they ai'e both monosyllables or both dissyl-
lables, for their elements of sound are, letter for letter, of the same class.
66
QUANTITY.
present, as a monosyllabic combination, no fewer than five articu-
lations after a vowel — dzblailndzhd.
No voiceless articulations could be introduced among these vo-
cal letters without cutting up the combination into as many sylla-
bles ; nor could any voice-letter be inserted in a combination of
breath-articulations without creating for every voice-articulation
so added, a new syllable. Thus the letters spsjlinktstks, in this
arrangement, constitute a monosyllable; but separate the vocal
articulations from the vowel, and insert them among the articula-
tions, and the same letters will constitute a trissyllahle ; — thus,
splsjlktnsths. Both these words are capable of distinct articula-
tion ; but it may cost the reader a little practice before he is able
to enounce them with fluency.
The following are all the articulative combinations which occur
initial in English syllables.
bw
as in
buoy
gl as in
glaes
si as in
slave
by
• • •
beauty
gr ...
great
sm ...
smile
bl
• • •
blade
kw ...
queen
su
snow
br
• • •
bride
ky ...
cue
sf
sphere
py
• « •
pew
kl ...
cleave
sg
spire
pl
• • •
place
kr ...
crime
St
steam
pr
• • •
price
my ...
muse
Da • • •
sky
dy
• • •
due
ny ....
neuter
spl
spleen
dw
• ••
dwarf
fy ...
few
spr ...
spring
dr
• • •
draw
fl ...
flight
spy ...
spume
dzh
• • •
jew
fr ...
fright
str
straw
ty
• • •
tune
vy ...
view
sty
stew
tw
• • •
twelve
thw ...
thwart
skr ...
scream
tr
• • •
try
thy ...
thew
SKW ...
squint
tfih
• « •
chair
thr ...
three
aky ...
skew
^
• •«
guelph
8W ...
sway
shr ...
shrine
gy
• • •
gewgaw
sy ...
sue
In the table at page 63, our main object was to show the ef-
fect ci the articulations on the vowel quantities. The following
table of the Articulative Combinations which are Final in English
syllables, will show the numerous degrees of Syllabic Quantity
which arise entirely from these constituents.
Quantity is generally considered to have reference to Vowels
only ; but if it is intended to mean the duration of the enuncia-
tive process, it must include Articulations also. The practice of
the following table will be found extremely useful in giving dis-
tinctness and fluency of articulation. The test of correctness is,
— Hear every liEiTER.
QUANTITY. 67
The Liquids, — or, as their functions in syllables would rather
require them to be called, transparent letters, — before a single final
articulation, give the next degree of quantity greater than that
of the single articulation : double articulations are the next
longer ; then liquids before double articulations ; then treble arti-
culations ; next liquids before treble articulations, and so on. But
as the articulations are not all of the same duration, their com-
binations present a great many slighter differences of quantity.
The Liquids are so thin a veil before Breath Articulations that
they hardly for an instant intercept our view of the adjoining
letter ; — before Voice Articulations they become more massive,
and two liquids are the longest double articulations in the language.
Let the student prefix a vowel to the combinations in the follow-
ing tables — ^long or short, but the same vowel throughout — ^and
let him read them in the order in which we have arranged them,
and he will be able to trace the nice gradations which connect by
no less than twenty-one steps, the English extremes of voiceless combi-
nations — sick and sixths ; and by eighteen, the voccd combinations in
hid and hinged.
TERMINATION AL SYLLABIC COMBINATIONS OF BREATH ARTICULATIONS.
JSote. — The letter C, signifies contindous ; [(CI.) close; (Op.) open;'] and 0,
OBSTRUCTIVE, — referriug to our classification of the Ai'ticulations at page 11.
,2 •■§ I I. O, p, t, k. as in step, shape, fit, site, ark, black, &c.
a g
a I
at
a
o
3
o
2. C. f, th^ s, sh^ ... if, laugh, path, both, miss, gas,
wash, &e.
^ Q flp, It, Ik, nt, ... help, felt, wilt, milk, elk, teat, auiit,
\ mp, mt, ngk, lamp, jump, dreamt, tempt, ink, &e,
i If, Is, 1th, Ish, ... self, gulf, golf, health, wealth, else,
4. C. I nth, ns, pulse, Welsh, ninth, plinth, once,
( mf, ngth, dance, nymph, strength, length, &c.
6. 0. pt, kt, ... apt, leaped, tripped, act, walked, &.c.
6. O. \ Ip8,pth, ts, tth, ... steps, whip8,depth,boat8, feats, eighth.
»F4 I
o. »
and >
C. j
f J
C. j (tsh, ks, watch, search, ox, axe, back8,cork8,&c.
<
o
Xi
o
7. C.
and I ft ^n Bt «;k ^®^> puffed, wasp, fast, guessed, ask,
ana > n, sp, st, sk, ... ^^.^^^ ^^
an £ I'll ii safes, life's, fifth, death's, broths,
' ' * *" coughs, &c.
68
(JUANTITV.
1
"4
10. o.
and
C. \
r 9 O i ^^^' ^^ °^^^' ^* *^ S^lPf^i milked, stamped, inked, iMinked,
I ngkt, suodnct, &o.
Ips, Itt, lUh. ..'. Alps, whelps, bolts, waits, beldi, mileh,
Iks, nts, ntsh, bulks, silks, prints, chants, Frendi, imA,
mps, mts, imps, romps, tempts, shrink^ thanks, &e«
U. C. flft, 1st, ... ingulfed, fail'st, teU'st, against,
and X nst, mst, mean'st, feign*8t, dream*fli, oomVt,
O. tngst, niig*8t, bring'st, &c.
12 C i ^' ^^^'> nihM^ ... gulA, sylphs, healths, tenths, plinths,
' I m£^ ngths, nymphs, lengths, &c.
ri3. Dble.
*^
1
). Dble. (
O. and -cpts, kts,
C. I
14. O.
C
|;^apst,tst,tsht,
Dble.C.i**^'
16. C. (^ .
O.andJ^' •?«'•*»'
C. !*■'
17. cJfths,
... adepts, Copts, acts, sects, expects, &c.
... shap'st, hop*8t, sat*Bt, got*st, patched,
broached, look*8t, next, &rC.
... eighths.
... efts, thefts, asps, costs, wastes, asks, desks,
husks, &c.
... fifths.
■!
L
18. O. (Ipst, Itst, Itsht, ... help*8t, halt^st, filched, milk'st,
C. J lkst,nt8t, ntsht, want'st, hint*8t, blenched,
and I mpflit, mtst, flinched, limp^st, attempt'st,
O. I^ngkst, think'st, drank*8t, &c.
19. C, Ifths,
20.O.C. f , .
O.&C.t '
21.0. r
I and -I ksths,
tTrbl.C. I
twelfths,
texts.
sixths.
• •J
I
TERMINATIONAL SYLLABIC COMBINATIONS OF VOICE ARTICULATIONS.
1.0. b, d, g, as in babe, mob, bad, trade, egg, plague, &c.
2. CI. f V, th, z, zh, ... leave, of, with, bathe, ease, as, buzz, rouge,
hymn, on, sing, tongue, &c.
1 2.C1. fv, th, z, zh, ... leave, of, with, 1
i ^ 4 Ac.
(3.0p. 1^1, m, n, ng, ... ail, ell, isle, am,!
CO
•m ^
J
4. 0.
{lb. Id, mb, md, ... alb, bulb, old, willed, build, rhomb, hem-
nd, ngd, med, and, Hnned, hanged, bunged, &c.
fi. C.
)
Iv, Iz, mZ) nz) ... delve, evolve, ells, palls, aims, comes,
ngz, bronze, ens, longs, pangs, &c.
ca
I
1
•■g
<!
g
QUANTITY. 69
6 0. bd, gd, a» in ribbed, stabbed, begged, wigged, &c.
7. O. fbz, dz, dzh, ... cabs, tubs, adze, heads, odds^ edge, budge,
and-|
C. Igz, eggs, lags, &c.
8. C. ( yd, thd, zd, ... saved, lived, seethed, writhed, grazed, used,
and'l
O. (^zhd, rouged, &c.
(lO.Op.lj
9. CI. fvz, thz, ... graves, loaves, withes, bathes, &c.
Im, helm, film, culm, &c.
0)
*0
fll.O. Ibd, ...bulbed.
12. O. f Ibz, Idz, Idzh, ... bulbs, folds, builds, bilge, rhumbs, lauds,
and C, ( mbz, ndz, ndzh, finds, fringe, change, &c«
13.C.&0. Ivd, nzd. ... delved, involved, bronzed, &c.
14.C.(cl.) Ivz, ... shelves, wolves, &c.
■!
16. C. (op.) f
& •{ Imd, ... helmed, overwhelmed, &c.
o. L
16. C. (op.) f
j & i Imz,
I C. (cl.) I
... films, elms, &c.
si 117. O.
9.S « n AO I ^'^^> '*' Ju^£»^^9 besieged, &c.
W "N g
"^1
i r
ndzhd, changed, hinged, &.c.
f I ■{ 16. O. /Idzhd, ... bilged, &c
MIXED ARTICULATIONS.
From what we have said (page 65) on the component
elements of syllables, it will be evident that voice articulations
cannot follow breath ones in the same syllable, but that breath
articulations may follow vocal ones. The following mixed com-
binations (besides the Liquids already given in the first part of
this table) are all that occur in English.
1 dth, as in width, breadth.
2 bst, dst, gst, ... brib'st, bidd'st, midst, hugg^st, &c.
3 vst, thst, ... wav'st, striv*8t, sooth 'st, &c.
4 Idst, ... hold'st, &c.
6 Ivst, ... delv'st, &c.
70
QUANTITY.
A further varietj of syllabic quantities arises from the Combi-
nation OF Syllables into Words.
An accented syllable — whatever its constituent elemental-
followed by one unaccented, is shorter than a monosyllable con-
taining the same elements ; followed by two unaccented syllables,
it is still shorter ; by three, shorter still ; and so on, it decreases
in quantity, as its terminational unaccented syllables increase in
number. Thus, lit, Utter, literal, literally. If we repeat the
monosyllable in its ordinary degree of time, we shall find that we
can pronounce the dissyllable, trissyllable, or quadrisyllable in
the same time. This may be well tested by accompanying the
accent by a beat of the hand.
It is further to be observed, that the accented syllable is longer
when the syllable next to it begins with an articulation, than
when it begins with a voweL A comparison of hve, lovely, lave-
line88, with hve, loving, lovingly, will manifest this. Subjoined
are a few instances of each vowel before the different classes of
articulations, followed by one, two, and three unaccented syllablea.
Instances of the first three classes are shown with both vowels
and articulations following the accent.
SHORT MONOPHTBONGS.
cit
pet
hap
bat
mock
book
fish
bless
ass
stuff
froth
bush
foity
I citron
I petty
\ petrel
i happy
i haply
I butter
( buttress
{mockmg
doctrine
{bookish
bookless
! fishes
fishpond
blessing
destine
(add
(aspect
(suffer
sufirage
{frothy
clothwork
{bushel
bushman
citizen
situate
petticoat
petrify
happiness
haplessness
buttery
butlership
mockingly
doctrinal
bookishness
bookseller
fishery
fishmonger
blessedness
destinate
asinine
asperate
sufferer
suffragan
frothily
ciothmerchant
bushelage
bushranger
citizenship
situated
petticoated
petrifying
appetency
butteiiness
mockablenesB
doctrinally
missionaiy
necessary
asinaiy
sufferingly
suffragator
QUANTITY.
rib
( ribbon
\ tribune
liberty
liberally
tribuneship
tributary
ebb
f ebbing
ebony
\ febrile
febrifuge
February
mad
f madam
\ madman
madefy
madrigal
magistracy
mud
1 muddy
\ bloodless
muddiness
bloodlesidy
do^
J dogger
1 dogma
doggerel
dogmatize
dogmatiser
wood
i woody
( woodland
woodiness
woodoffering
woodpecker
with
wither
withering
witheringly
live
livid
lividness
liveryman
says
resin
resinous
as
azote
azimuth
love
loving
lovingly
—
bother
bothering
botheringly
fin
finish
finical
fiuically
cell
cellar
celery
celibacy
ham
hammer
amity
amicably
cull
cnllis
colander
«
long
longing
longingly
full
fiiller
fullery
LONG MONOPHTHONGS.
sleep
sleepy
sleepiness
mast
master
mastery
masterliness
naught
naughty
naughtiness
flute
mucus
muculent
leaf
leafy
leafiness
laugh
laughing
laughingly
— •
author
authorize
authorizcr
luce
lucid
lucidness
greed
greedy
greedily
daub
dauber
daubery
fiigue
fuguist
fugleman
ease
easy
easiness
pause
pausing
plausible
plausiblcness
soothe
soothing
soothingly
—
leisure
leisurely
leisurable
feel
feeling
feelingly
dream
dreamy
dreamily
brawn
brawny
brawnily
room
roomv
roominess
PIPH THONGS.
cape
caper
cape^g
caperingly
part
partagc
partible
partitively
cirque
circle
circumstance
circumflexes
71
72
QUANTITY.
carp
carpet
carpenter
Inrk
lurker
lurking-place
short
shorten
hortative
hortatory
pork
porker
porkeater
oak
oaken
oaki^)ple
might
mighty
mightiness
doit
loiter
loiterer
loitcringly
doubt
doubter
doubtingly
race
racy
raciness
marsh
marshal
marshalling
earth
earthy
earthiness
curse
cursing
cursory
cursorily
corse
corset
sorcery
portion
portionist
oaf
oafish
oafishness
rife
rifle
rifleman
house
household
householder
hoist
oyster
boisterous
boisterously
babe
baby
babyhood
ablebodied
hard
hardy
hardihood
herb
herbage
herbalist
word
murder
murderous
murderouslji
orb
orbit
orbitude
board
boarder
boarding-school
rogue
roguish
roguery
«—
tiger
tiger-shell
void
voidance
voidable
proud
prouder
powdery
save
savour
savoury
savouriness
air
airy
airiness
large
largess
argentine
serve
service
servitude
serviceable
urge
urgent
urgently
gorge
forge
gorgeous
gorgeously
forger
forgery
rose
rosy
rosary
tithe
tithing
tithable
mouth (v.)
moul£er
mouthingly
noise
noisy
noifidness
taU
tailor
tailoring
arm
army
armam^t
firm
firman
firmament
turn
turner
turnery
mom
morning
ornament
mourn
mourning
moumingly
soul
solar
drollery
own
owner
ownership
isle
jsland
islander
join
joiner
jomery
fix)wn
frowning
frowningly
QUANTITY. 73
We have now shown the differences of quantity essential in the
separate elements of speech ; and«,the quantitative influence of
Articulations on Vowels, and of Unaccented on Accented Syllables.
The influence of another vowel immediately succeeding the ac-
cented one, as in theatre^ drawing, &c., remains to be noticed.
If we compare any words of this class with others which have the
shortest articulation interposed between the vowels, — as,
seeing, fluid, sawest,
seated, fluted, soughtest,
we shall find, that while the words in the first VoiQ allow of greater
duration on the accented vowel (when under emphasis) than those
in the second, yet in their ordinary pronunciation, the vowels are
shorter in the first than in the second class of words. The judge
of this is of course the ear ; to it, in confirmation of our assertion,
we appeal.
In order to test this fairly, however, it will be necessary to com-
pare the words — not separately, but in a sentence, that they may
have their ordinary colloquial quantity ; for as the words of the
first class more easily hear an increased quantity than those of
the second, they would be very liable to receive an unconscious
addition in separate comparison. Test them in the following
sentences : —
Seeing you seated here, I came to you.
Lucky fellow ! thou sawest that for which thou s(mghtest not.
Th&ifiuted glass looks very like a streaming ^titc7.
As a general principle, then, we should say, that accented
monophthong vowels preceding another vowel, are shorter than
when they are before any articulation. Not so, however, diph-
thongal vowels, — as in grey-ish, joy-ous, flow-ing, &c., these, when
fully pronounced, are as long before a vowel as before a vdce-
articulation.
• In the preceding Quantitative Tables we have shown the nature
and extent of our Articulative Combinations. To complete the
view of English Elementary Compounds, we shall now exhibit an
arrangement of our
Vowel Combinations.
. The English language is usually supposed to be more deficient
of vowel combinations than it reaUy is. Examination may show
K
74 QUANTITY.
that it has more vowel qnaUtj than it generallj gets credit for.
It certainly has a great proportion of articulationB, and long —
because final — clusters of these elements ; but thej giro it a
strength and dignity in utteranoe, for which euphonioiis Yowet
smoothness would but ill compensate. The apparent scarcity of
vowels, however, arises in great part from the rude way in which
these soft elements are slurred, and curtailed of their " fair pro-
portion" by our speakers. Let them be fully given, with all their
tapering qualities, and softly blending in their combinations, with-
out careless elisions and clippings, and the English Tongue will
be found to possess as muchi)f vowel-euphony as is consistent with
the masculine character of its utterance.
We have collected a few instances of our Vowel-Combinations,
— accented and unaccented, — ^which we commend to the student's
tasteful practice. The perfect enunciation of these combinations,
without either of the sounds being impaired in quality, is one of
the neatest acts of speech, and a sure criterion of the cultivation
of a reader.
Vowels l-l. Caries, congeries, minutiae, period, pre-eleet, sanies^ series. .
1-2. BeiDg, seeing, seine, deity, theism, deism, eaneifomiy deibido,
corporeity, nereid, howbeit, seity, spontaneity, velleity,
reiterate, atheist.
1-3. Create, creator, reagent, enunciation, verbiage, ideate,
permeate, affiliation, lineage, depreciate, initiate, excoriate,
foliage, malleate, muriate, obriate, recreate, satiate.
1-i. Re-echo, arietta, Vienna, acquiesce, oriental, pre-eminent,
siesta, ambient, requiem, inscience, orient, lenient.
1-5. Ideal, peean, Sabean, pharisean, react, sodiac, myriad,
pancreas, lineal, dealbate, meander, genealogy, adamantean,
alias, encomiast, bronchial, burial, cardialgy, caveat, anteaet.
1-6. Agreeable, screable, cochleary, theatre, aviary, zea, diarrhoea,
dulia, mania, dyspnoea, malleable, nausea, scoria, trachea*
1-7. Dearticulate, pianist, linear.
1^. Near, bier, deer, appear, cheerful, afeard, veneer, barrier,
moneyer, courier, glacier, rapier.
1*^. Theuigy, lyceum, mausoleum, museum, idiot, idiom, curious,
permeous, cupreous, axiom, amphibious, calcareous, cameous,
fhrious, geninium,igneons.
1-10. Deaurate, geology, oeolipile, areotic, areometer, ebriosity,
curiosity, geoigic, geotic, heliolatry, meteoric, periodical,
teleology, deobstruct, junior, senior, meteor.
QUANTITY. 76
Vowels 1-12. Leo, peony, xeolite, pleonasm, grayeolent, deodand, geode,
soagliola, embryo, neoteric, helioscope^ aposiopesis, ratio,
seraglio, uroeolate.
1^7-1* Radii^ Agnus-Dei.
1-10-1. Helioid, eardioid.
. ... 1-12-1. Vitreo* electric.
The third element, it will be remembered, is a diphthongal
1 B
sound. Its finishing quality of e, or before very open rowels of i,
must in all cases be heard,^-ofi;en with extreme delicacy of
shading ; but the total omission of it is un-English.
Vowels 3-1 . Aerial, phaeton.
3-2. Playing, grayish, laity, mosaic,tr ochaic, hebraic, clayey,
judaical, hebraist, archai8m> Judaism.
3-4. Obeyestj weigheth, prayest.
3-5. Naiad, abeyance, conveyanoe.
3-6. Affiraiable, weighable.
3-8. Weigher, player, gayer, delayer.
3-10. Aorta, archaiology, chaos, chaotic.
3-11. Aorist.
3-12. Aonian, kaolin.
3-7-1 • Orey-eyed, hebraize, judaize. >
Thp 4th English vowel occurs initial in but one combination,
— 4-8, as in air, heiry ere, prayer, care, Ac.
Notc^^lxL Scotland, a diphthong compounded of 4-1 or 4-2, is commonly
heard instead of 7-1 > in my, buy, sigh, &c.
The 5th vowel (an) with the 12th or 13th, is often heard
among English speakers, instead of the more open vowel which
correctly forms the first sound of the diphthong ou. Thus, hough,
thou, how, &c. are pronounced with 5-13, b&-oo, th^-oo, &c.
There is a mincing effect of affectation in this peculiarity.
Vowels 7-1. Buy, try, sigh, I, fye, lie.
7-13. How, noun, drought.
7-1-1* Hyena, hyemal, empyema, trieterical, syenite, dietetic, diesis
quietus, strie.
7-1-2. Buying, sighing, dying, trying, thyine, skyey, shyish.
7-1-4. Buyest, dieth, science, quiescent, dioeresis, scientific, lien, client
(rariety, quiet, notoriety, piety, propriety, ubiety.)
Note, — The words within brackets are often — if not gene-
rally — pronounced 7-1-2. In Scotland, they are
contracted into 7-lj and pronounced pah-eety,
varah-ecty, &c.
76 QUANTITY.
Vowels 7-1 -S. Diameter, iambus, dialogist. eyas, sciatica, biangulous, bias,
8ialog<)gue, alliance, phial, elegiac, sdagiaphy^ triaL
7-1-6. Via, viaduct, diapason, pianet, friable, striatore, siriasis.
7-1-8. Fire, crier, dyer, irierarch, dire, briery, fiery.
7-1-9. Orion, lion, pious, triumph, scion, iron, triumphal, diurnal.
7-1*10. Ionic, triobolar, myology, scioptic, dioptrics, diorthosis, prior.
7-1-12. Iodine, rioleut, trio, sciolist, pioneer, myopy, bryony, inyio-
lable, diocese, yiolin, meionite, meiosis.
7-13-1. Advowee.
7-13-2. Ploughing, allowing, vowing.
7-13-4. Allowest, voweth, vowel, bowel, rowel, towel.
7-13-5. Allowance, avowal.
7-13-8. Our, power, shower, dowery, hour-glass, towering.
... 7-1 -7-1* Dry-eyed.
lO-l. Boy, oil, noise, adroit, conoidical, avoid, soil, alloyed, join,
point.
10-2. Sawing, pawing, drawing, flawy, gnawing, rawish, thawing,
moiety.
10-4. Drawest, gnaweth, sawest.
10-5. Withdrawal.
10-8. Drawer, rawer, war.
10-1-2. Boyish, enjoying, annoying^ toying, coyish, cloyii^g.
10-1-3. Voyage.
10-1-4. Destroyest, joyeth, employest, annoyeth.
10-1-5. Buoyance, annoyance, royal, royalty.
10-1-8. Employer, alloyer, coyer.
The I2th vowel, like the 3rd, is diphthongal. With less or
more distinctness its compound quality should be heard in every
combination in careful reading. Colloquially, however, ^and es-
pecially before very open vowels, — ^the more open and simple o is
12
used instead of o-oo. Care must be taken that the lips do not too
much modify the 12th vowel, or there will be a tendency to pro-
duce the articulation w, instead of the vowel oo, before another
vowel.
Vowels 12-1. Coeval, proemial, orthoepist.
12-2. Stoic, owing, doughy, coincidence, poet, poetry, heroine.
12-.3. Boation, acroamatical.
12-4, Owest, knoweth, proem, poetical, aloetics, coheir, coefficacy,
soever.
12-5. Coagulate, coadjutor, coagmeot^ coadunition, salsoacid,
retroaction.
• ••
QUANTITY. 77
Vowels 12-0. Oasis, zedoary^ proa, boa, coacervate.
12.7. Coarct, coarctation.
12-8. Coerce, lower, mower, borrower.
12-10. Co-operate, zoology, zoography, co-ordinate, co-optation.
12-12. Zeolite, zoophyte.
12-7-1. Polychroite.
13-2. Bruit, wooing, truism, druid, fluid, dewy, ruin, fortuitous, im-
puissance, puissant, assiduity, pituitary, comminuible, Jesuit,
Jesuitical.
13-3. Sinuate.
13-4. Crael, fluent, duel, incruental, inuendo, circumfluence, afiluent,
minuet.
13-5. Pursuant, renewal, truant, accentual, casual, manual, mutual.
13-6. Suable, pursuable, estuary, mantua, mulctuaiy.
13-8. Brewer, tour, your, cui'e, poor-house, moorish, reviewer,
durable, mure, lure, surely.
13-9. Sinuous, innocuous, assiduous, vacuum, fatuous.
13-10. Fluor, sinuosity, impetuosity.
13-12. Actuose.
13-7-1. Pituite.
•<•
PAST SBCOXD.
DICTIOXIRT OF ENGLISH SOUNDS.
Iir the former put of tliiB vork, we have dtmiufujd die theorj
of Vovel and Aitiealite Fonmlintw We shaD mm pvoeeed to
make eooie Pkacticil ObserfalioiiB oo each of the fl e meiilB of
Boyish Speech, and to famish a seiieB of Bzera9ei»ni the prac-
tice of which the etadent will find the certain means of his im-
prorement^ whether in Distinctness of Articnlatinn, the Ang^ioia-
ing of Prorindal ChaiacteiisticB, or the Bemoring of Indindiial
Faults of Utterance.
The anangement of the Vowel Exercises is as ficdlows : —
Fint^ Words are given, containing the soond nnder coosidam-
tion in utiacctHted sjQaUes : the unaccented Towek are pruUed
iniiaUcs.
Note. — The exact founds of the towcIb dioiild be heard as ^atmcCty in tlieir
nhorteit tons, as in the longest. The perfect preGervatiao of the characteristic
ioonds of the Towds in unacceiUed s^DaUes fiunisheB the most mm*mt«lrfahlc
evklcooe of aeubnrated pronandation.
Secdfidliff Words in which the soond is accetUed ; L Before
a Vowel ; II. Before Breath Articulations, or Liquids followed
by Breath Articulations ; III. Before Voice Articulations fed-
lowed bjT a Vowel ; IV. Before Double or Final Voice Articula-
tions; V. Final
Thirdly, Words which aredistinguished 5^ tAe^ouiuf from other
words, with which, in careless utterance, they are liable to be con-
founded.
F(jurthly, WordH of identical sound, but yarious orthography.
FIRST VOWEL.
79
The following Table of English Monophthongs and Diphthongs,
shows the order in which we shall treat of the Vowels, and arrange
the Exercises on each.
as in educe, element, exavioB, sheepfold, beam-
less, bee.
. impose^ verilj, differ, dimness.
. agate, acre, ague, gaj.
. embrace, empty, embers.
. erewhile, ere.
. admire, action, admiral.
. arouse, academic, sofa, master, baths.
. partake, partial, pardon, papa.
>• idea, lightly, mindful, sky.
. howeyer, doubtfol, loudly, how,
, , herbaceous, martyr, certain, thirdly, sir.
.. supply, cutler, cudgel.
.. curtail, curtain, curdle.
.. obtain, donkey, dogma.
., austere, auction, auburn, aure.
.. boisterous, boiled, boy.
,. portray, porter, boarder, adore.
.. omit, disobey, also, motion, moulding,
mow.
... footman, should.
... utility, ague, bootlace, shooed.
No.
I.
Vowel.
1, i
II.
2,
III.
3,
IV.
J (short,)
*' t Gong.)
V.
5,
VI.
6,
VII.
7,
VIII.
7-1.
IX.
7-13,
X.
8,
XI.
f (short,)
*■ I (long.)
xn.
f (short.)
^^'•taoDg.)
XIII.
10-1,
XiV.
11.
XV.
12.
XVI.
((short,)
^^' 1 Cong.)
FIBST VOWEL.
Obsvbvations. — This is the Alphabetic sound of £ in English, and of I in
the French and other continenta] tongnes. It is the closest of the Lingual
VowcAb. In its formation, the tongue rises convexly within the arch of the
palate, and presses laterally against the palate and back-teeth, leaving only a very
narrow 2q[)ertiun8 for the voice, between the middle of the tongue and palate.
A very common fault in the formation of this vowel consists in the depres-
sion of the point of the tongue to the lower teeth — a position which, besides
being injurious to the quality of the vowel, is unfavourable to the action of the
tongue for many of the Articulations. The tongue must be kept back^ and its
point directed horizontally, to guide the sound out of the mouth without striking
the teeth. The teeth must, of course, be sufficiently apart : they should, for
no vowel, have a less opening than a quarter or a third of an inch.
so FlliST V.jWfiL.
Many penmis tayi tu pmiiuaMe 'iu vowei mtk pvitf . wfaia k ■
emphmJB, «peeiafly when fimi : « in -^3> be jr aot oi he"* **■€
^^ tfaej ^uill be &ee«** '^ to '4£ep;» p ntajuB e a> ii«BL**
rastfing M ^ mumikj fitm too ctet ^jr^mie i^ifnaimmkm. To
praooniiQe ipondi imrtfiif; with a, ani (Arefl « ike jmni for
ing that the tungv iftkepft psMiiT ^dfl iai& the mmd be iEnHhal a the
In Soothynl thb vowid n» gwud h kjkiati t'a ifj e wf ani 'jmamiib§i the
e m nMgt» ineatt» te>^ hang so— iedL ah—e ae ahraprfr mdaiK in meehMJe, b
many tiaaeB» the 3itl Towei, but tot smku and wiiheni
termiiiatun^ i» dobititateil dir the l£C : ±ni aHiL saoi, deoi^ dkcL,
notmoed nuUe, stittet dAfe» ^ Hm ^wniiTiilj jb— id be ahnoefc
to wonb spdkd with ea.
A aimflar eomhinge of vuwdb tafase plaee in IniaBi: bnt aoEh woris »
awaiii^ cfaiti^ 9efa£ine« ^b^ where the junnd ie vacioiaiT nfRaennd, peitafci
ofthepeenfianty. The Irish Mond biaoieopnaad prohn^Bi thai the SaiftE^
anditaToeafity iekaip«re» bong mind with the jukiniati ie A iy i utiu n whiek
of the Iridb JiaiBet.
i9fi»te.~Vowei I, ia aefahan osaetlf aonnM in ai imMiiiaiil ijHrfih
ifiateij after the tuxeiU^ m in a{iprtile» MritK.— ^ ^ poKtiafee, &e. fii
caeee it ia TCfr Qahle to take the mora ofMt wd easor &m of the 2nd YdweL
Before die cnnxnt, howerer, » m tidEtion^ bcaeaeh, pneoowa^ letmn, jhe^the
lat fiirmatinn mmk always be cacefiiDy prafianred.
UnacceiUed. — abflnmcate, ac«tatB» adequate. <«ttte> aggeiatBaii,
aggragaitB, algsbnv ali&s> albggrr, ambergrtsy ambten^ aiunn-
meter, anhdatioii, aatdope> antmieiic, aotemuv, aiitxpoda% appn-
hend, arum, aasotftudey atii6ist» aTuuy^ axsom ; bacanae, iMfiote*
babold, hekfWy hmeaih^ baoiNich* bareft» between, btfware, beyoad;
enate, cndnfity; daalbate^ dMoiate, (kbar, December, dtfdaoD*
defimct, dtfbort* dont^^mte, dalaj» demand, dsmy, dfluzjdaabB,
depoot* denaan, doscend^ datain» d^relop ; ebadet^^ tfcfipuw
a ditkm, daatic, dicit; «maciate» 0mit» «ner?ate, enon^^ aoBc^
eofian, ^pisde, equator, areet^ espouse, erade, erent, e^cate*
exxrwia; fecmidity, ft^eity; generic, gisotic, geology; haw-
cEtaij, heroic; letfaargicy brant; meander^ meefaaDic, w^
mento, nmutaeums, metropi£»; necesaty, ne£arioii8> negatwii.
nedogj ; orsent, obsaqnies ; pecofiar, pedantic
FIRST VOWEL. 81
preamble^ precede, precipitate, precocious, predict, prefer, pre-emi-
eat, prehensile, preliminarj, premtum, prenunciation, preoccupy,
prepare, prerogative, prescind, preserve, pretend, prevail; react,
realitj, rebellion, receive, recover, redundant, regard, rehearse,
reiterate, rejoice, relapse, religion, remember, remonstrate, renew,
renown, repair, reprehend, republic, request, research, resolve,
resource, result, retail, return, revere, revisit, reward, rhetorical ;
secession, secrete, secure, sedate, select, senescence, setaceous,
severity, stereotype ; temerity, terreous, theatrical, theocracy,
tremendous ; vegetate, vehement, velocity, veranda ; zetetic.
Note, — R, after long vowels, has the sound of the 8th vowd, (as in sir). Its
1
oombination with e will therefore give the diphthong 1 -8. The omission of
the 8th vowd IVom snch words as ear^ here, cheer, &o. is a Scotticisra. There
1
is, besides, a harshness in the junction of e with the articulative effect of R,
which is gracefully avoided by the interposition of the open element which is
always heard in English.
Care must be taken to avoid the intervention of any similar sound between
e and L or N : the habit of inserting another vowel in tliis situation prevails in
Scotland ; but these articulations must be directly joined to the simple and un-
changed vowel.
Accented. — I. Adhere, aerial, albeit, apotheosis, appear, aureola,
eneid, idea, cheerful, unreal, really, sphere, weary, fierce, pierce,
shire, zero, we're, pier, rear, bier.
II. Reaf, chief, leaf, belief; eke, apeak, unique, seek, speaker,
pique, weakness ; steeple, deep, people, keeper, heap, weep ;
antoeci, apiece, auxecis, east, easter, exegesis, obese, fleece,
priesthood, police, pelisse, increase; accretion, appreciate, specious;
acetous, excrete, feature, meetness, sweet, treaty, conceit, seat,
veto ; appeach, beech, preacher, leeches, teaching ; ethiop, ether,
heath, wreath, teeth.
III. Abstemious, adhesion, leisure, seizure, aegis, alleviate,
amphisboena, aphelion, arena, arundelian, eagle, easy, edict,
either, emir, enfeeble, even, evil, expedient, illegal, feasible, in-
gredient, mediate, oadema, feeling, ingenious, {^easing, reason,
sheathing, penal, tedious, meagre, peevish, abbreviate.
I R9T VO
. I
-f
-: •»'
^ i>]
CtMS
iir*!^
ker
1* I MH^t
neal
meat
meet
need
knead
peace
piece
SECOND VOWEL. 83
peak
queen
seed
tear
pique
quean
cede
tier
peal
read
sweet
weak
peel
reed
suite
week
peer
seem
sheer
weal
pier
seam
shear
wee'll
please
see
teem
weald
pleas
sea
team
wield
V
SECOND VOWEL.
Observations. — This sound we are inclined to consider ahnost as a charac-
teristic of the English language, fh>m its frequent occurrence in English, and
its compai'atively little use in other modem languages. It has been generally
reckoned the short form of the 1st vowel, — but erroneously. The shortest
utterance of 6 will be a distinctly different sound firom this, which, as its position
1 3
in pur table indicates, is a formation intermediate to those of e and a. The
1
tongue, from its position at e, is depressed for the 2nd vowel, about half way
3
to its position for a, — as careful experhnent will manifest.
There is no longer form of this vowel in English, than that of the word
hinge; but the. prolongation of the sound is of course quite practicable.
The second vowel is not heard in English before R, final or followed by any
articulation: the 8th vowel is substituted in these cases. When the R is
followed by another vowel^ as in muror, mii-ade, &c. the i has generally the
sound of the second vowel, — as before other articulations.
In Scotland, we hear, instead of this vowel, a peculiar and more open sound,
nearly approaching to that of the 4th English Vowel, being a formation inter-
mediate to the 3rd and 4th. This will be found noted in our General Scheme,
(page 28) as the 4th of the Lingual series.
Among Northern speakers, ambitious of an English enunciation, but who have
been taught to believe that the vowels 66(1) and iQ\ arc identical in formation,
we frequently hear the 1st instead of the 2nd vowel, as in vision, condition,
suspicion, &c., pronounced veesion, condeetion, suspeecion, &c. This need
not any longer be a mark of Northern English, for there is no difficulty in pro-
ducing the true sound of the English element when once its formation is under-
stood.
The 2nd vowel is common enough in Scotch under another form. It is heai'd
instead of the shoi-t sowid of the French u, (The 3rd Lahio-lingual vowel,
0. V. S. page 28), which is vernacular in Scotland. Thus the word g*ide,
(good) is in many districts, pronounced exactly like the first syllabic in giddy :
84 SECOND VOWEL.
andf where tliis custom prevsuls, we bear the sound opened into a(3) in long
syllables, as in do^ pronounced da^ (without the English diphthongal quality ;)
thus practically illostrating and corroborating our remark at page 30 on the
tendency of i(!2) to be lengthened into a(3) rather than into 6(1). We have
besides numerobs instances in English of a(3) being shortened into t(2), as in
the final syllables of tarriage^ marriage^ cabbage^ orange^ &c, pronounced
idge^ inge, &c.
2 3
In the Irish dialect we have i, opened into a, and sometimes into the proxi-
mate Scotch vowel noticed above. Thus ill is by Irish speakers pronounced
nearly like ale in English, his like hazcj forgive like forgave^ &c.
In the unaccented terminations, ?7, in, ive, &c., we generally hear Element
9 in Ireland ; as in peril, motive, genuine, &c., which are pronounced nearly
as if spelled peniZ, moiuv, gennun, &c. Anothei* Irish peculiarity is to sound
1 2 11 2
Y final, imaccented, like e instead of i, as pretty, many, &c. for pretty,
2 «
mojiy, &c.
Exercises.
Unaccented. — Abdicate, abditive, accident, acrid, admonish,
adventive, agile, agitate, agonism, algid, alkali, airy, ashy, ambit,
amicable, amice, amortise, amplitude, anaglyph, analysis, anguish,
animal, anise, antidote, architect, argentine, article, assassin,
auspice, axis, baby, bony, booty, bushy, busy, beauties, bodies,
critic, caitifif, cherubim, captain, curtain, certain, cockatrice,
conduit, creditable, chary, cherry, dervis, dreamy, duty, daisy,
edible, egotism, eighty, segis, evitable, every, easy, fishes, flighty,
fury, finny, fancies, finish, furtive, forfeit, foimtain, gelid, greasy,
gory, healthy, hurry, happy, honey, hostile, hospital, hereditary,
holy, holly, icicle, icy, livid, lattice, latitude, ladies, loamy,
leafy, laughing, lordship, mastiff, mimic, mountain, miraculous,
merit, missive, many, money, marry, merry, mossy, mighty,
naughty, knotty, navies, ninny, noddies, omnibus, orifice, orpiment,
origin, oxygen, oily, pencil, prehensile, premise(s), precipice, pre-
mises, poppies, plaguy, pity, petty, putty, posy, pithy, retinue,
reddish, roguish, roughly, racy, ruddy, sooty, sorry, slippery,
sheriff, servile, subtile, seraphim, similitude, syringe, spicy, saucy,
slily, sully, tumid, tariff, thummim, turnip, treatise, tarry, (adj.)
SECOND VOWEL. S6
tarry, (v.) tiny, tetchy, vivid, vestige, virility, visit, vallies,
very, wiry, witty ; average, baggage, breakage, brokerage, cab-
bage, carriage, cribbage, courage, cottage, image, leakage,
marriage, message, orange, passage.
Accented, — II. Abyss, anticipate, amiss, distance, crystal, listen,
missile,' risk, piston, scissible, thistle, whisper, hyssop ; slipper,
antipathy, frippery, whip, pipkin, sippet, stipulate, strip, triple ;
lift, whiff, swiftly, gift ; pith, frith, smith ; bittern, citron, citizen*
ditto, ditch, fit, kitten, litter, little, admittance, literal, literature,
literally, literarily, admit, knit, pit, pitcher, capitulate, written,
rich, wit ; ambitious, fish, dish, agnition, vicious, bishop, antiscii,
wish ; wicked, auricular, quicksand, ticket, brick, pickle, sick,
diction, stricture, afSx, mix, admixture; imp, limp, simper, shrimp,
tympanum ; lymph, symphony, nymph ; filth, plynth, Sc^nthiau,
grilse, since, wince, princely, minster, quince, evince; chintz,
flint, printing, scintillate, stinted, inch, pinch, filter, milter, milch,
hilt, guilty ; milk, silken, ink, brink, drink, wrinkle, trinket, lynx.
III. Nibble, cribbage, gibbous, exhibit; imitate, simmer,
women, limit, timorous, intimidate ; living, quiver, vivify, carni-
vorous, oblivion ; wither, hither, thither ; busy, busiljr, dizziness,
visit, prism, drizzle, invisible, prison ; fiddle, hideous, fastidious,
idiom, avidity ; administer, anguineal, dinner, liniment, minnow,
guinea, miniature ; utility, ambilogy, anguilliform, miller, milliner,
billow, lily, gillyflower, pillage, village, chilly ; lyric, mirror,
miracle, spirit, myriad ; wriggle, rigorous, vigour, bigger ; singer,
wringing.
IV. Fib, nib, rib, squib, giblet, biblical ; give, live, sieve,
livelong ; with ; his, quiz, business, wisdom ; did, bid, fiddler,
kid, midshipman, midge, amidst, vigil, width ; fin, grin, gives,
hindrance, kindred, minion, spindle, sin, stingy, astringent, hinge,
window, thin, chin, vineyard, rescind ; drill, bill, gills, hill, killed,
silver, children, film, fulfil, million, instil, illness, bilge, bewilder ;
big, figs, dig, wigged, higgler, jig, pigment, ignorant, cygnet,
signal ; ring, fling, wing, kingdom, jingle, finger, thing, tingle,
eringa, shingle, ringlet.
8« THIRD VOWEL.
Dutingni^h between
« r n ~
pasfiibk and poasaUe. aspirate and asperate.
i f
gennin — German. sar;^*e .. sorj^iis.
4 f
rabbit ^^ rabbet. :iabtik .^ sabtfe.(jprsiitlle.)
Words of the same prcmmeiaiiony hut dijferetd ortkograpkj^,
eandid candied cliff clef
empirical empjrical gild guild
linka Ijnx signet cjgnet
tint teint
THISD VOWEL.
OBSERVATiosrs. — ^Tbe depresaoa of the tongue to a pootioa as moeh Bore
open thao that of i(2) as the latter is more open tiian that of e(l), prodaeeB
the Towd whidk it the alphabetic soiiDd of £ in French. This soond is not
heard nngfy in Fjigfiah, bat is ahrays d^thongally tapered into or towards
the eioeest fingnal rowd ee. The omisaon of this ^phthongal termination to
the third rowel it a mariLed pnyvinciafism, and is one of the leading featores of
the Seoitifth dialect, in which the mon<^thongal a==e Frmcft is a Yery common
Towd. When the English a^^Hi-e occurs before a Toicdcss articolation, the
ranishiDg somid (e) it so abmpt, and so blended with the radical a as to be
with diiBcahy dittii^^iiiflhed hy the unpractised ear : but the contrasted utterance
(/mM!h words at mate^ cape, lake^ jrc. bj an Englishman and a Scotdmian,
win show that even in the shortest utterance of this vowd the two demits are
really present in En^ish pronnndatioii. When the vowd is final, or before
voice articulations, its compound quality will be unmistakeabty manifested.
The En^h custom of making this vowd a diphthong is very apt to throw
the radical part of the sound too open, so that we often hear 4-1 instead of
S'l, from careless speakers.
The dd vowd is not heard before R in the same syllable in England. R, which
has the sound of the 8th vowd, could not follow the dose finish of the English
a without creating a uew syllable ; and therefore the 4th vowd — ^whioh readily
blends with the 8th, is always substituted, as in air, care, Sfc, pronounced
4 9 4 9
rti-r, ca-re, ffc.
The Scotch a, bdng a monophthong, unites with R in the same syllable,
and, therefore, is retained in those words which in English have the more open
ftound — (4) ; so that there is a very marked difierenoe betwixt the English and
the Scotch pronundation of such words as air, pear, heir, Sfc,
In Scotland the 8d vowel is used in many words instead of the English
12th ; as in stone, bone, alone, &c., pronounced st^ne, bSne, al^ne, &c. This
a 12
is another indication of the analogy between a and o, which we have noticed at
pngo 25.
THIRD VOWEL. b7
Exercises.
Unaccented, — Serial, aorta, aonian, archaiology, archaism,
vacate;* adage, dotage, herbage, homage, mortgage, salvage,
tillage, umbrage, vassalage, wharfage; preface, surface,
menace, palace, terrace; paraphrase, ukase ;t agate, allegate,
advocate, antedate, cerate, confederate, deliberate, dedicate,
dissipate, emigrate, extricate, electorate, habitate, initiate,
inmate,- legate, meditate, oblate, palatinate, pontificate, phos-
phate, sulphate, situate, portrait ; acroamatical, ansated, astrolabe,
counterpane, murrain, wassail, travail, headache, landgrave,
margrave, survey(s), roundelay, essay(s).
Accented, — I. Aorist, chaos, crayon, obejest, gajetj, greyish,
clayey, paying, saying, surveyor, weigher, archaic, alcaic, aerate.
II. Crape, draper, maple, papist, hal^enny^ rapier, sapient,
tape, staple, drapery, vapour, insapory ; safe, waif, chafe, wafer,
safety; faith, faithful, wraith, scaith; ace, base, face, phasic,
graceful, hasty, mace, plaice, complacent, race-horse, erase, waste,
obeisance ; nation, approbation, gracious, education, equation,
oration, spacious ; eight, bait, great, fated, hatred, crater, lately,
I
nature, enate, equator, straight, potato, waiter; ache, baker,
naked, opaque, sacred, snake, vacant, breaker, wake ; plaintive,
complaint, mayn^t, acquaintance, saint, restraint, quaintly.
III. Able, babyhood, daybook, labial, neighbour, nabob, sabre,
tabor, stable ; amiable, famous, claimant, paymaster, gaming ;
bravery, favour, engraving, quaver, slavery, saving, wavy ;
bathing ; brazen, blazon, hazy, lazar, nazal, razor ; azure, oc-
* From the diphthongal nature of this vowel it is comparatively seldom heard
in unaccented syllables : in the terminations age, ace, atn, al, &c., the Second
vowel is generally substituted; but a few words are given above, as, in deliberate
^leaking, the Tlurd vowel would not be pedantic, and is often heard, especially
in such words as dotage, herbage, mortage, ^., where the preceding syllabic
is loni;.
2 4
t The colloquial tendency is to open the termination ate into et ; but the
Third vowel is uniformly heard from good speakers.
88
T4IR0 VOWEL.
^
cosion, abradioii, eya^ion ; faded, degrading, heyday, lady,
decadence, cradle, maidenly, radient, trading ; caning, craniam,
waning, zany, drainer, gala, exhaling, jailer, paling, tailor, sailor ;
sago, plaguy, plaguing.
IV. Ably, stabler, scabrous, babe ; aim^ blameless, dame,
James, exclaim, lamely, namesake, shame, tamed, came;
brayely, graveness, behaviour, sacred, slaves, waveless, waive,
they've, cave ; bathe, lathe ; baize, brazed, haze, crazed, maize,
amazed, surveys, weighs, chaise, brazier, grazier; aid, braid,
flayed, arcade, allayed, shadeless^ obeyed, age, umbragious,
^^g^'^f gSMge, major, stage, wager, rage ; brains, gains, reniain-
der, domain, pain, reign, reindeer, stained, attainder, vainly,
stainless, banefdl; ale, dale, frailtj, hailstone, nails, assailed,
veiled, bewail ; craig, vaguely, plague, vagrant, flagrant.
y. Bay, obey, fray, clay, nei^^, prey, ray, dismay, tray, sleigh,
weigh, survey, inveigh, yea, they, array, dray, jay, allay, grey,
hay, gay.
Distinguish between
Payer and pair I Layer and lair
Weigher and wear | May<Hr and mare
Gayer and gare.
Words of the same Pronunciation hut different Orthography,
ale
Dane
ail
deign
bale
fane
bail
feign
bay
faint
Bey
feint
Iraid
&^e
brayed
gauge
break
gate
brake
gait
clamant
grate
claimant
great
day
hale
Dey
hail
lade
laid
lane
lain
made
maid
male
mail
mane
main
maze
maize
naj
neigh
pane
pain
phrase
frays
place
plaice
plane
plain
plate
plait
pray
prey
prays
praise
FOURTH VOWEL.
89
rain
stake
tray
wane
rein
•
steak
trey
wain
reigu
stade
vaJe
waste
raze
staid
vail
waist
rays
stayed
veil
wave
raise
sail
tale
tail
vane
vain
waive
way
sale
vein
weigh
FOURTH VOWEL.
Observations. — In forming this sound, the oral channel is enlarged by the
depression of the fore-part of the tongue, from its position at a(d), about as
much as it was increased from ee to a. This formation is one of the cardinal
points in the vowel scale, being about midway between the closest and most open
fbrmations ee and ah ; the vowel is one of the commonest in all languages. It is
the note uttered by the sheep in bleating.
A vowel intermediate to this and the preceding formation is heard in Scotland,
as the vernacular sound of the English i, in ill, in, it, &c. This is one of the
most common vowels in the Scottish dialect ; it is heard instead of the English
4 th in cherry, merry, &c. ; instead of the 8th in her, sir, &c. ; the 9th in
does^ &c. ; the 13th input, foot, &c : combined with ee, it makes the Scottish
form of the English diphthong 7-1, as in ay, child, idle, mine, &c. ; and it is
heard, besides, in numerous unaccented syllables.
The organic change from the 4th vowel position to the succeeding formation
is comparatively minute ; and consequently the sounds 4 and 5 are liable to be
confounded. The English long form of vowel 4 (lieard only before R) often
verges on 5 ; and in Scotland the short form is characteristically subject to
5
the same change ; perish being pronounced almost like the English parish,
5 5
very like varry, heaven like hav\ &c. In some districts, or in some words,
4 5
the converse of this change takes place, and we hear kerrier for carrier,
A 5
merry for marry, &c.
A peculiarity similar to the former occurs in the Irish dialect, in which such
words as men, pen, bed, &c., are pronounced nearly like man, pan, bad, &c.
The long form of this vowel — identical with the French ^ in m^me, b^te, &c.
3 8
-—is that sound which we have said is substituted for A before R in English.
It is heard in no other position in our language. In Scotland it is common as
the sound of the English diphthong 7-1, when final, as in eye, high, buy, my,
try, &c. ; and also in emphatic or strongly accented syllables it is heard instead
of A (3), as in " Isay,^^ ^^awayP^ '•^admiration, tribidation,'' &c., pronounced
'' I iEH," " aivYM !" " adniirEUtion,'^ &c.
M
00 FOURTH VOWEL.
An ear oiuiociiBtoiiied to analyse Yocal sounds, may possibly, at first, fail to
recognise tbe same Towel formation in the words eU and ere ^ air =» heir ;
arising fixMn its combination in the latter words with the open R(8): bat
dose observation and caiefiil eiqperiment will satisfy the donnrring ear of the
correctness of oar classification. When we find aD our orthoepists at fiudt with
this sonnd, and see even Mr Walker, in his laborious analysis of the prindples
of oar language, omitting to notice this lengthened sound of ek ; naj, assarting
that ea in bear^ e in there^ &c. are the same in vowel quality as a in trade,,
ai in pain^ &c., we cannot expect our new doctrine to be received without
question. It is, however, most certain that all English speakers at the present
day do make a difference in the sound of a as in care and in cane ; and there
can be no doubt that Mr Walker, fifty years ago, must have made a corres-
pondent difference between them in his own practice, or else the very obvious
difference now made must have grown with marvellous rapidity and obstinacyi
at variance as it is with the theories of our orthoepists. To the qualified ear we
appeal to corroborate our well tested conclusion, that the a and e in vary and
very are identical in quality^ and different only in quantity or fulness ; just as
the long sounds in yawn and pool are — confessedly by all orthoepists — the same
in quality with the short ones in yon and pull.
The combination of this long vowel with R, it must be remembered, consti-
tutes a diphthong, viz. 4-8. Thus,
48 48 48 482
pa - ir, be - ar, sha - re, va - r - y.
Let the reader pronounce the words in the first of the two following columns,
omitting the vowel-sound of the r, and joining its articulative effect to the first
vowel as abruptly as possible, and his pronunciations should correspond to the
words in the second column : or, conversely, let him pronounce the words in the
second column with the interposition of the vowel-sound of R between its arti-
culative effect and the preceding vowel, and his utterances should give the words
in the first column.
fairy, ferry.
vary, very.
chary, cherrj'.
Mary, meny.
dairy, Derry .
airing, erring.
But it is not every ear that will be at once competent for this experiment.
We every day see how difficult it is for the unpractised organs to analyze even
the simplest words into their elementary sounds ; and how hard it sometunesis
to get the judgment to assent to the correctness of what seems so strange and
peculiar as the separate utterance of the elements of language. The ear requires
peculiar training, as well as natural acutcness, to catch and distinguish tJie
transient and shadowy tones of the speaking voice with accuracy. Even ex-
f OURTH VOWEL. 91
cellence in utterance or in the practice of mumc, would appear to be no certain
qualification for this peculiar province of the critical ear : thus Mr Rice, in his
Art of Reading, wishing to prove the untenable assertion, that speaking sounds
do not range between tones of various acuteness or gravity, but differ only in
force or intenmty, like the notes of a drum, — says, ^^ That I might not be mis-
taken, however, myself, in this particular, I repeated at different times several
passages fit)m Milton and other poets, in the hearing of one of tlie greatest mas-
ters in that science, (Music) who, after paying the utmost attention to the seve-
ral articulate sounds in each sentence, declared them to be all of the same tone I**
No fact in the sdence of speech is better established than that all speaking
sounds partake of an upward or downward movement— called an inflexion— of
the voice ; and that, consequently, there is not a sameness of tone throughout any
correetly-delivered articulate sound ; but here were a Professor of the Art of
Speech^ and ^* one of the greatest Masters in Muaic" deceived in that particular.
We cannot, therefore, wonder if critics, less apparently qualified than these
professional Masters of Sound, should be unable— or unwilling, against general
theoretic authority — ^to corroborate by accurate experiment our Vowel-Theory and
classification. Accustomed, as we are, to a false scheme of representative letters,
it is not easy to examine sounds by the ear alone, irrespective of their signs ;
but tins must be done by the philosophical student of speech.
Let the Northern reader now endeavour to lengthen the vowel in the word
8
eU^ — and he will produce the sound which, followed by the peculiar formation er, is
regularly heard in English instead of the 3d vowel before R in the same syllable.
Exercises.
4 (short) Unaccented. — Bip^d, learned, sacred, forest, hellenic,
minstrel, majesty, Messiah,' project, (s.) peremptory, quadruped,
temptation.
In the initial syllables^ ef, em, en, ex, Ac, ; as in efface, effect,
efficient, effeminate, effete, effulgent, effuse ; ellipse, elliptic ; em-
balm, embellish, embezzle, embody, emphatic, empiricism, em-
ploy ; enable, enamel, encamp, enchant, enclitic, endear, endea-
vour, endow, enfeeble, engage, engorge, engrare, enhance, enjoy,
enkindle, enlarge, enlighten, ennoble, enrich, enslave, entire, en-
viron ; erratic, erroneous ; eschew, essay, (v.) eccentric, eclectic,
ecstatic, exact, example, exceed, except, exchange, exculpate, exe-
cutor, exempt, exergue, exhale, exhilarate, explain, explicit, ex-
pression, exsiccate, extend, exterior, extol, extract, extreme, exude,
exult, &c.
92 FOURTH VOWEL.
In the terminations, ed, edst, ence, ent, est, eth, less, ment, ness, dec, ;
as in blighted, dreaded, weeded, elated, noted ; blottedst, mould-
edst, jelledst ; evidence, penitence, essence, conscience ; provi-
dent, different, eminent, serpent, comment, (s.) washest, bathest,
veilest ; breaketh, laugheth, aideth, shibboleth ; headless, heed-
less, edgeless, soulless, aimless, useless ; government, refinement,
figment, segment, indictment, ointment, ailment ; wickedness,
happiness, madness, likeness, illness, lameness, wanness, witness,
freshness, blitheness, emptiness, harness.
4 (short) Accented, — II. Depth, depurate, heptarchy, jeopardy,
kept, wept, leopard, pepper, reprobate, reptile, sceptic, separate,
tepid, shepherd, epitaph ; effluent, deaf, feoff, cephalalgy, feoffor,
heifer, zephyr, bereft, theft ; death, saith, ethics, lethargy, method,
breath, bethel ; bless, best, breast, essence, arrest, fester, guess,
jessamine, lesson, message, pestle, pessimist, pressed, sessile, tes-
tament, invest, zest, vesicate ; debt, better, detriment, etiquette,
etch, fret, etymon, heterodox, heterogene, jet, kettle, metaphor,
metal, metrical, petty, petulant, retinue, reticle, wretch, veteran,
wet, yet, treachery, thetical ; fresh, profession, especial, thresh-
hold, mesh, session, procession ; deck, beckon, elect, mechanism,
neck, nectarine, peck, wreck, rector, protect, technical, check,
equerry, equitable, equinox, freckle, peculate — Help, helper, help-
mate, yelp, whelp ; delf, Delphian, belfrey, Guelf, pelf, selfish,
shelf, elfin ; health, stealth, wealth ; else, elsewhere, keelson ;
Celts, dealt, felt, helter-skelter, knelt, melting, shelter, welts,
belch ; Welsh, Welshman ; elk, welkin ; emphasis, Memphian ;
empire, emperor, empress, hemp, temper, sempervive, temple,
temporal, temperate, temse, sempster, sempstress ; dreamt,
empty, attempt ; emption, pre-emption, redemption ; tenth ; pence,
density, prehensile, commence, pensive, sensitive, spencer, tense,
whence, wainscot ; bent, indent, dental, entity, nonentity, meant,
mental^ pentagon^ scent, assent, tentative, content, events ven-
tricle* went, twenty, blench, drench, henchman, wrench, retrench ;
gentian, pension, providential ; lengthen^ lengthwise.
FOURTH VOWEL. 93
III. — Ebbing, pebble ; headed^ wedding, meadow, ready, dedi-
cate, medical, predicate, redolent, sediment, zedoarj, treadle,
steady ; beverage, crevice, ever, evidence, heaven, levy, level, revel,
lenigate, prevalent, reverie, seven, endeavour ; blemish, emanate,
emigrant, feminine, general* hemisphere, hemorrhage, lemma, me-
mory, supremacy, seminary, cemetery, semibreve ; feather, to-
gether, heather, nether, weather, wether, whether, tether ; hesi-
tate, peasant, presence, resident, resin, resolute, resonant, mesen-
tery ; berry, burial, beryl, ceremony, derogate, eremite, errand,
error, ferret, ferreous, herald, heritage, heroine, peregrinate, pe-
remptory, peril, perishable, seraph, terebrate, very, veracund,
verify, wherry ; bellow, cellar, delicate, element, eloquence, felon,
gelid, gelatin, hellebore, helical, jelly, melancholy, melody, pellet,
pellicle^ prelate, relevant, relegate, relic, stellar, spelling, telegraph,
teller, vellum, vermicelli, zealous, zealot ; benefit, denizen, deni-
grate, enemy, energy, fennel, kennel, menace, pennate, penance,
penetrate, penny, renegade, rennet, senate, seneschal, splenetic,
tenable, tenement, tennis, venerate, venom, zenith ; measurable,
pleasure, treasury ; beggar, dreggy, legate, legacy, megacosm,
negatives.
IV. — Ebb, web, February, pebbly, hebdomad, nebula ; bed-rid,
educate, headlong, medley, pedlar, hedger, edge, allege, sledge,
bed, bread, dead, fled, head, said, instead, sped, tread, wed, hegira,
legend, schedule, regimen, vegetate ; tremble, tremulous, sem-
blance, remnant, remember, membrane, hemlock, emulate, em-
brocate, ember, emblem, condemn, phlegm, gem, them, stem ;
brethren ; says, presbyter ; bell, dell, ell, fell, knell, quell, sell,
swell, tell, rebel, (v.) compel, well, yell, shell, beldam, belluine, de-
luge, delve, elbow, elder, elves, elm, helmet, helve, prelude, (s.)
realm, seldom, sheldrake, velvet ; den, fen, again, ben, ken, men,
ten, wen, then, when, dendroid, endless, engine, envoy, envy, fend,
friend, gender, genuine, lend, mend, mendicant, penman, pendent,
pendulum, penguin, phengite, render, slender, splendid, strenuous,
tenure, tender, tendril, vengeance, venison, Wednesday, wend ;
9i
FOURTH VOWEL.
beg, egg, keg, leg, peg, eglantine, segment, integrity, regulate,
regnant, impregnable, phlegmon, negligent, segregate, tegument.
8
4 (long— only before R). — I. Airy, bearable, daring, fairy, garish,
flaring, glaring, hairy, heiress, carious, Mary, prairie, pairing,
tearing, vary, variable, wearer, sharing, chary, charily, comparing,
unvarying, sparing, staring, scarer, ensnaring, swearer ; heirloom,
scarecrow, prayerless, yarely ; bear, bare, dare, air, Ayr, ere, e'er.
Eyre, heir, fare, fair, glare, hair, lair, mare, ne'er, pare, pear, pair,
prayer, rare, spare, stare, scare, snare, tear, tare, wear, ware, yare,
share, chair, there, where.
In bricklayer, stage-player, rate-payer, &c., where layer, payer,
&c. are unaccented, the monosyllabic form 4-8 is generally heard,
as in prayer ; but when these or similar words are emphatic, as
in the sentence, " a good worker makes the best player,^* the dissyl-
labic form 3-1-8 should be preserved.
whether
whither
except
accept
essay (v.)
assay
delectation
delactation
pendent (a.)
pendant (s.)
Abel
able
effect
affect
element
aliment
adept
adapt
terrace
tarrass
Distinguish between
effluent enallage
affluent analogy
elocution evocation
allocution avocation
ereption
eruption
hermetical
hermitical
cornet
comate
erogate
arrogate
magnet
magnate
prophet
profit
erogation
arrogation
terrier
tarrier
fellow
fallow
palette
palate.
asperation
aspiration
Words of the same Pronunciation, but different Orthography.
Ayr
air
ere
e'er
eyre
heir
lead
led
bare
bear
there
their
weather
wether
knare
ne'er
ware
wear
fair
fare
glare
glaire
hare
hair
pair
pare
pear
stair tare
stare tear
berry bread iH'east ' read
bury bred Brest red
FIFTH VOWEL. 05
FIFTH VOWEL.
Observations. — This vowel is characteristically an English one. Its for-
mation is slightly more open than that of the preceding sound — by the depres-
sion of the middle of the tongue backwards. The vowels fh>m ee to eA are
produced by depressions of the fore-part, while the middle or back of the tongue
4 7
remains elevated ; those fh>m eh to ah bring down the middle of the tongue,
and so evenly enlarge the whole cavity of the mouth.
The tendency to interchange the vowels 4 and 5 has been noticed under the
former of these. In Scotland, it is not unusual to hear the 4th soimd in the
effort to hit the peculiar English formation 5, which the unaccustomed organs
do not readily take with precision. Mincing and affected speakers in England
pronounce 4 instead of 5, as — ** The ettitudes were edmirable." In some words
this change is established by almost universal custom ; as in any, many, pro-
nounced enny, menny.
The 5th vowel, when initial, is liable to be confounded with the 6th or 7th in
the article a, as in
arrode, attest, appeal, accustom,
a road, a test, a peal, a custom, &c.
There is a shade of difference in the articulation as well as in tlie vowel-sound
of these combinations, though the distinction is not generaUy attended to.
In Scotland, the 5th vowel is seldom heard ; the usual pronunciation of all
words with that element in English, being a short sound of a (7), as in are.
Thus the verb tarry has in Scotland the same sound as the adjective tarry in
England — but more abrupt ; cap has a short sound of ca(r)p, back of ba(r)k,
&c.
EXERCISBS.
Unaccented, — Abbreviate, abduce, abhor, abjure, absent, (v.)
absolve, absorb, abstain, acclaim, accredit, accrue, accumulate,
acquiesce, address, adhere, adjacent, adjure, administer, admire
admonish, advert, advise, afflict, aggress, allude, alternate, ambi-
tion, antarctic, anterior, antique, appertain, apprehends asbestos,
ascertain^ assuage, assume^ atlantean, annual^ banian^ baptize,
caviare^ hallucinate^ disturbance^ diaphragm^ diagonal^ epigram,
heroicals headland^ collateral^ general, principal, lineal> dissonant,
consonants epitaph, cenotaph, lactescent, lampoon, lascar, magnetic,
mandamus^ mazarine^ myriad, nankeen, olympiad, orgasm,
plantation, pleonasm, regal, spheroidal, transmit, transfer, trans-
form^ translate, tattoo, vagrant, Vandyke, woodland.
96 FIFTH VOWEL,
Accented. — II. Accident, accurate, acid, acetate, acme, acrid, act,
action, actual, afiBable, affluent, apathy, apple, aphony, aphorism,
apogee, apophthegm, appetite, apposite, apsis, apt, aquiline, ash,
aspect, asperate, asinine, assassin, assonance, asthma, at, atlas,
atmosphere, atom, atrophy, attic, attitude, axe^ axiom, axis ;
bachelor, back, baffle, baptism, bashful, bat, batch, batten, battle,
cap, capital, captain, cat, category, catholic, catch, clap, clatter,
crackle, drachma, facile, fact, faculty, fashion, fat, fatuous, flap,
flash, flatter, flatulent, fracture, gap, gash, glacier, gracile, graphic,
grapple, gratify, hackney, hap, happen, hatch, jackal, jasper,
lacerate, lack, lapidary, lapse, lassitude, lateral, latin, latitude,
lattice, lax ; macerate, machinate, mackerel, maculate, map,
masculine, massacre, match, mat, matin, matrimony, matter,
maxim, nap, naphtha, napkin, nascent, pacify, packet, pap,
paralysis, passion, passive, patent, patch, patrimony, placid,
platter, practice, quack, raffle, rapid, rat, rational, rattle, relapse,
refractory, sack, sacrament, sacrilege, saflron, sapphire, satchel,
satin, satire, satisfy, saturate, Saturday, Saxon, scaffold, scatter,
scrap, scratch, slash, snap, snaffle, spatter, sprat, stack, static,
statue, stratagem, tacit, tabid, tactic, tap, tapestry, tax, that,
thrash, thwack, tractable, traffic, trappings, yacuate, vaccinate,
vacillate, vapid, vascular, vat, waft, wax.
Alchymy, alcohol, alkali, alphabet, altercate, altitude, ample,
amputate, ancestor, anchor* ankle, antre> anthem* antic* antler,
anxious, balcony, bank^ banquet* banter, blanch, blanket, calx,
calculate* camp, camphor* canker, cancer, cant* canto, cramp,
crank* dank* flank* halcyon* hamper, handkerchief, lamp, lank,
lantern* mansion, mantle* mantelpiece, palpable, pamphlet,
pantry, philanthropy, panther, plank, rampant, rancour, rant,
samphire, sanctify, scalp, scamper, shank, stamp, talc, tamper,
tantalize, thank, trample, trance, tranquil, transit, transient,
transom, transport, vamp, vanquish.
Ill, Abbey, abbot, abbess, adage, adder, adequate, agaric,
agonism, alibi, aliment, aliquant^ aliquot, allegory, alley, aloe.
FIFTH VOWEL. 07
alum, amaranth, amazon» amethyst^ amitjr analyse, anarchy,
anecdote, anile, animal, annals, anodyne, arable, arid, aristarch,
arrogate, arrow, avarice, average, azote, azymous, babble, bag-
gage, balance, ballad, ballast, banner, bladder, cabbage, cabinet,
callender, callid, calumny, cameo, cannon, canopy, caraway, carol,
cavalry, clamour, dagger, dally, damage, dazzle, dabble, dragon,
drama, fagot, family, famine, fathom, galaxy, gallant, gamut,
gaseous, gather, grammar, granary, gravel, habit, haddock, hag-
gard, harass, havock, hazard, inhabit, janitor, labyrinth, ladder,
lammas, laneate, larynx, lather, madam, malady, malice, mam-
mon, manacle^ manage, marigold, manifest, manner* mariner,
marrow, marry, narrow, navigate, palate, palace, palliate, pallid,
panic, parable, paradox* paragon, paragraph, parallel, parallax,
paraphrase, parasite, parergy, parish, parody, parrot, parricide,
planet, radical, rally^ raillery, ramify, ravage^ ravish. Sabbath,
saddle, salad, salary, sally, sallow, salmon, salique, savage, scarify^
shadow, shallow, Spanish, stagger, stammer, stannic, straggle,
tabid, tallow, talon, tariff, trammel, travail, traverse, vagabond,
valance, valid, vanish, waggon.
IV. Abb, abdicate, abject, ablative, abnegate, ablepsy, abro-
gate, adze, aggerate, adjunct, adjutant^ admiral, adnoun, adverb,
advocate, agitate, aglet, agnate, aggrandize, aggravate, aggregate,
albatross, album, algebra* algid, almoner, alveary, amber, am-
bient, amble, ambush, amnesty, aneurism, anger, angle anguish,
annual, antalgic, anvil, as. bad, badger, bag, balneal, band, bang,
cambist, camlet, can, candid, canvas, dam, damsel, dandle, dandy,
dangle, bland, brag, bramble, brandish, cram, clang, fag, fangle,
flag, flagellate, flambeau, fragment, gad, gag, galvanism, gamble,
glad, gland, gradual, granulate, grand, halberd, halliard* hand,
handle, hang, handiwork. Iambus, jaguar, jangle, jamb, January,
jasmine, javelin, lad, lamb* lambative, land, language, laniard,
lazuli, mad, madrigal, magic, magistrate, magnify, magnet, ma-
jesty, man, manganese, mangle, manuaL manuscript, pansy, nag,
pad, padlock, plaid, pageant, pan, pander, plan* plasm, quagmire,
N
96
SIXTH VOWEL.
rag, ramble, random, remand, harangue, sad, sagittal, salutary,
salvable, salver, sand, sandal, sanguine, scandal, scramble, shag,
shambles, shamrock, sham, slab, slander, span, spaniel, stag^ stal-
lion, stand, stanza, strand, strangle, swag, tag, talmud, tambour,
tan, tangle, than, tragedy, valiant, value, valve, van, vandal, van-
guard, wag, withstand, yam.
accite
excite
apposite
opposite
leman
lemon
Distinguish between
allective
elective
carat
carrot
matrass
mattress
allude
iUude
alogy
elogy
elegy
coral cymbal
corol symbol
principal missal
principle missile
appose
oppose
feracity
ferocity
pendant
pendent
Sixth Vowkl.
Obsbrvations. — Usage is considerably divided in England with respect to
the pronunciation of some words ending in and^ aunt^ ath^ ass^ ast, ask, &c. ;
some speakers giving them the open sound of ahy while others pronounce them
with the 5th vowel. With reference to the more open sound in these cases, Mr
Wfdker has remarked, — ^^ This pronunciation of a seems to have been for some
years advancing to the short sound of this letter, as heard in hand, land, grand,
&o. ; and pronouncing the a in after, answer, basket, plant, mast, &c., as
long as in half, calf, &c., borders very closely on vulgarity." But between
a(t) and, a(r6) there is a great organic difference, sufficient to admit of at least
one distinctly intermediate sound ; and such a sound is undoubtedly heard in
our language, and is the most common variety of vowel-quality in these irregular
cases. The extreme pronunciations 5 and 7 are at the present day compara-
tivdy seldom heard. The precise quality of the prevailuig intermediate sound
cannot be correctly noted : for it ranges among different speakers through every
practicable shade of sound within these limits. But the recognition of a dis-
tinctly mediate sound may give us more uniformity in its employment. Per-
haps the best standard of this vowel-quality would be the French sound of a
in mal, or in the article la.
Speaking of a middle sound between vowels 5 and 7, Mr Walker remarks, —
** As every correct ear would be disgusted at giving the a in such words as
past, last, chance, &c. the full sound of a in father, any middle sound ought
to be discountenanced, as tending to render the pronunciation of a language
obscure and indefinite." The theoretical discountenancing of any sound in
general use has undoubtedly this tendency; but the classification of every variety
SIXTH VOWEL. 99
of sound distiDguishable in common nsage must have tlio oppoeite effidot, and
tend to remove obscurity and indefiniteness. The vowel noted as the 6th in
our scale is unquestionably in our mouths every day, and it must therefore find
a place in the catalogue of our vocal dements.
This variableness of vowel quality is not observable in aU words containinff
7 7 7
the Combinations in which it occurs. We never hear band^ gas^ hath. &o.,
5 5 5
but uniformly, band^ gas^ hath^ &c
In the Scottish dialect we hear in some words the 4th, and in others the 7th,
instead of the English 6th voweL Thus grass^ hrass^ &c., are generally pro-
4 4 7 7
npunced gress^ hress^ &c., and bath, dance, &c. bath, dance, &c.
Unacc^ted a in the syllable immediately preceding the accent, as in abolish,
alacrity, bazaar, &o. has generally the sound of the 6th vowd ; but among
different speakers, it obscurdy ranges through all the shades of sound fix>m
the * equal formations of each vowd dass, a(n,) i(rJc,) ti(p,) onward almost
to ah.
the unaccented final a, in comma, sofa, viUa, &c., has alwa3r8 a more open
sound than that of the a in fat, which is assigned to it by Walker ; but its
sound is less open than that of the accented a in papa. In such words, we
have instances of the 6th element. In Scotland the a in this situation is dosed
s 2 9
into a, or even to i : thus sofa is pronounced as if written so&y, or sometimes
2
sofy.
Exercises.
UiMCcented. — abandon, ability, abode, above, abolish, abound,
abundant, abyss, academy, academic, acoustic, adapt, adept,
adopt, adorn, adult, again, aghast, ago, alacrity, alarm, alembic,
alert, alive, alkalize, aloft, amalgam, amanuensis, amass, amaze,
ameliorate, amenable, ascend, amidst, anoint, apace, apepsy,
apology, apostate, arithmetic, arouse, aruspice, ashore, aside,
asunder,atone, avail, avenge, aver, avert, avidity, avoid, avouch,
avulsion, await, awake, award, aware, awhile ; baboon, banana,
btiorometer, basalt, bashaw^ bazaar ; cabal, cadet, cajole^ charade,
chateau, calamity, canaL canine, canoe, capacious, capitulate,
caprice> careen caress, carotid, catarrh, cathartic, dragoon^
facetious* familiar, fanatic ; gazelle* gazette, gratuity* ha-
rangue ; laburnum* laconic, lament laniferous ; malign, macaw.
♦ See General Vowel Scheme, — page 28.
100 SEVENTH TOW£L.
machine, madonna* Mohamet, m^ijoritj, m/^tntw^ manusmaSt
marine, maroon, material ; oasis ; pacha, pc^odc^ parade^ pan-
logjf paralysis, parodiaJ, paternal, pathetic, pkicaid^ platoai;
rorine; sabaoth, sogacioos, saliya* »doon, scdnbrioiu* aa?aiiiia»
saroj, stalactite, statistic, taboo, tarantula, tradition, tni^enam,
Yonilla; sjUable, idolatry, sjnogogae, logomcwhj, maasocre^
sympathy, apathy, comma# idea, era, sofa, errata, genera, potasBOv
diorama, dileouno, analemma panorama, diarrhooay dyspnoBo.
Accented. — After, afterwards, alas, ask, bath, cast, castle,
brass, class* clasp, craft, draft, faet^ fiisten, g^asa, graft, gra^
grass, last, mask, mast, master, nasty, pass, past, raft^
raft^er^ rasp, sample, staff, task, vast, surpass, repast.
In words ending in nee and nt, custom wayers between the 5th
and 6th yoweb, as in danee^ glance, chance; grant, plant, slant, Ac.
In words spelled with au before nt, we generally hear the 6th or
7th, as in aunt, gaunt, Jlaunt, taunt, &c.
The Article a generally has the 6ih or 7th sound ; though some
speakers use the alphabetic Towel a.
Distinguish between
abrade ayert foremast passable
upbraid eyert foremost passible
Seyenth Vowel.
Observations. — ^This Vowel, which is often called the open Italian A^ is
formed with the lips drawn back, the teeth conmderably separated, and the
tongne evenly depressed, so as to spread the sound in the mouth, and direct it
in a broad current out of the expanded oral aperture. The slightest alteration
in the position of the tongue or lips will affect the quality of the sound ; and
thus, though this element is very common in all languages, there are often
minute differences which give it a distinctive character.
Habits of oral action — such as pouting the lips, keeping them doise at the
comers, &c. influence all the vowels — the open ones espedally ; so that this,
the most open sound, is peculiarly liable to be affected by them. The efifective
speaker cannot be the slave of any habit of this kind. His lips and tongue
must bo pliable and plastic, and theu- action must be light and agile, that the
most minute and momentaiy movements, either for articulation or emotional
expression, may be performed with facility.
SEVENTH VOWEL. lOl
In English this vowel occurs chiefly before B, final, or followed by an arti-
colation ; bnt it is almost uniformly heard in alve and alm^ (I not sounded) as
in halve^ ccUve, palm^ calm^ alms^ ^c. Before (/*, as in calf^ half^ Sfc. ; and
in laugh, haunt, Sfc, we as frequently hear the less open sound of the pre-
ceding vowel, a(6.)
The 7th vowel is never short in English. In Scotland we hear an abrupt
form of it in words which in English have the 5th and 6th sounds, as in man,
mask, Sfc, : bnt we comparatively seldom find the 7th vowel sounded in words
which have that sound in English. Thus, bar, jar, star, calm, palm, father,
Sfc. are generally pronounced ahnost as if spelled bawr, cawm, fawther. Sec ;
farm, heart, alarm, Sfc, are very commonly pronounced with the 4th vowel
feh-rm, heh-rt, Sfc, ; and guard, serjeant, large, Sec, as regularly take the
sound of the 3d vowel (monophthongal), and are pronounced as if written
gayrd, sayrjeant, layrge, ^.
Exercises.
Unaccented. — Alegar, archangel, archaic, armorial, arthritic,
articulate, artillery, artificer, arbitrement, artistic, armada, ar-
senical, barbaric, cardoon, cartoon, curvilinear, dotard, harpoon,
harmonious, harmonics, linear, lunar, marmorean, monarch,
narcosis, narcotic, narcissus, niggard, parhelion, participate, par-
tition, partake, parterre, particular, rectilinear, sarcastic, sardonic,
sugar, vinegar, wizard.
Accented, — (Before M[S]tfollowed hy a Breath Articulation,)'-^
Arc, arch, archery, architect, archives, arctic, arsenic, arson, art,
artist, artifice, artery, article, bark, barter, carcass, carp, carpet,
carpenter, cart, cartridge, cartilage, chart, charter, charta, clerk,
embark, dark, dart, debark, depart, farce, garter, hark, harp,
harsh, heart, hartshorn, hart, hearth, hearken, impart, larch,
larceny, lark, march, marsh, mark market, marquess, mart,
martial) martin, Martinmas, martyr, parcel, parchment, park,
parse, parsimony, parson, part, partner, partial, participle, parti-
zan, sarcasm, scarf, shark, sharp, smart) spark, Spartan, start,
startle? tart, tartan? Tartar.
In the following, and similar words, in which the vowel is before Breath-
articulations, or Liquids followed by breath-articulations, good usage is pretty
equally divided between the 7th and 6th vowels.
Aunt) can*t, calf, daunt, draught, gaunt, gauntlet, half) haunt,
haunch, laugh, launch? saunter, jaunt? taunt.
102 DIPHTHONG 7-1.
*( Before -B[8], finals or followed by a Voice Articulation,)'^'
Arbiter, arbouri arduous, are, argue, arm, armour, bar* barbarous,
bard, barge, bargain, barley, barm, car, carbon, card, cardinal,
carle, carnal, carve, charge, charm, charnel, charlatan, darling,
darn, far, farthing, farm, garb, garble, garden, gargle, garland,
garment, garner, garnish, harbour, hard, hardihood, harm, har-
mony, harness, harvest, lard, large, larmier, larva, mar, marble,
marl, marmaladei marvel, nard, par, parboil, pardon, parliament,
parlour, parvitude, sardonyx, scar, scarlet, shard, snarl, spar,
star, starling, starve, tar, tardy, target, targum, tarnish, varlet,
varnish, yam, yard, garnish, jar, jargon, debar, guitar, alarm,
enlarge, cargo, guard, serjeant, ardent, armament, carnival,
guardianship.
(Final, or before Voice ArticulationS'^l silenty^ Aimoni, alms,
almry, balm, calve, brahma, hah, halve, malmsey, mamma, papa,
palm, qualm, salve, father, psalm, jaundice.
Distinguish between
altar collar lumbar
alter choler lumber
DlFHTHONQ 7-1.
Observations. — ^This combination is the alphabetical sound of the letter I
in English, and a veiy common element of speech. The first part of the diph-
thong is Hable to considerable dialectic and individual modification, as are all
the open formations^ — 5, 6, 8, 9, &c. ; but the combination of the extremes of
the vowel scale^ — 7-1 =• ah-ee, — ^is generally recognised as the correct English
diphthong. The most usual departures from this in England are to 6-1 and
8-1. In Ejiowlcs^s dictionary, this diphthong is analyzed into 10-1, whidi,
however, confounds it with another diphthong, — as in isle and oil, — ^from which
that author makes it differ only in some ill-defined abruptness of maxillary
action. The student has but to blend the most open sound he habitually makes
in such words as far, papa, palm, Sfc, with the first vowel, to produce that
* The combination of the 7th vowel with R, is truly a diphthong, though, fix)m
the slight difference in the formation of its elements, it is not very obviously so.
The comparison, however, of such words as arm and aim, harm and halm^
carve and calve, farther a,nd father, will clearly manifest the diphthongal quality.
DIPHTHONG 7-1. 103
form of this diphthong which suits his habit o( speech ; but, if he open his ears
to the utterance of educated Englishmen^ free from peculiarities of oral action, he
will find that the radical part of the diphthong is nothing short of the broad
Italian ah. It must be remembered, however, that the sound is much more
abrupt than in the separate or interjectional utterance of that vowel. (See
page 73.)
There is a tendency in all diphthongs in careless utterance to slide into a
sound intermediate in form to their component elements. Thus we often hear
the 5th or even the 4th vowel substituted fur 7-1. In Scotland, especially, is
this eommon : the almost regular utterance of this English diphthong, when
Jinaly being vowdl 4 or 5, as in /, eye^ my^ huy^ ^c, pronounced eh, meh, beh^
jrc. Sometimes the same sound is used before R, and^r^, wire, ^c, are pro-
6 ft
noxmoedfehr, wehr, or fa-r, wa-r, ^c. When the vowel is in other situations,
as in night, idle, crime^ wild, ^. the Scotch use a diphthong compounded of
then: peculiar vowel (4th Lingual, G. V. S. page 28) with the First vowel.
This combination is heard, independently, in the Scotch pronunciation of the
word aye, and, — ^in some words, — ^in the termination ay, as in pay, Tay, 8fc,
— and frequently otherwise instead of vowel 3, probably from the same tendency
that opens the radical part of this vowel to 4, in English mouths.
In Irdand the general form of this diphthong is 9-1, or even 10-1, — ^but
abruptly uttered, — ^which has doubtless led Mr Enowles to set down 10-1 as
the formation of the English diphthong.
The letter R, after a long vowel, always having a vowel sound in itself,
forms, in combination with this diplithong, a triphthong ; the elements of which
are 7-1-8, as in^re, wire, higher, S^c. ; words which, fully pronounced, are
dissyllables: but, to render the combination as monosyllabic in effect as possible,
the middle element of the triphthong is frequently opened colloquially to vowel
3 or 4.
Exercises.
Unaccented, — /ambus, iconoclast, idea, identify, idolatry,
/onic, iota> biangulous, bipetalous, cycloidal^ diathesis, diameter,
diaeresis^ diecian, dilate, dtlemma, diocesan, dioptrics, diurnal,
gigantic, gyration, hiatus, hibernal libation, m^logy> nihility,
nigrescent, nitrometer, phytivorous, primeval, privation, sciatic,
pst^hologj, quiescence, Riphean, sciagraphy, scribatious, sialo-
goguci sidereal) stupify, edify, gratify, triennial^ trinomial,
triumphal viaticum, vicegerent, villi, vivaceous.
Accented, — I. Iodine, ire, iris, Irish^ iron, bias, brier, buyer,
client, cyanite, diaphragm, dialogue, diadem, diamond, diet, dire,
dying, fiatt friar, giant, hierarch, hire* liar, liable, lion, lyrci mire.
104 DIPHTHONG 7-13.
mjopj, nias, orion, phial, planet, piety, pious, pirate, pliant, prior,
ptjalism, pjre, quiet, choir, riot, science, sciolist, scion, sire,
society, spiral, squire, syenite, trial, triangle, trio, triumph, tyrant,
viaduct, viand, violent, viol, virus, wire, zodiacal.
II. Ice, icicle, ichor, icon, isagon, item, bifid, bifold, bite,
blight, brighten, cycle, Cyprus, cycloid, dice, dike, fight, flighty,
fright, gripe, knife, knighthood) lifeless, lightsome, likely, micro-
cosm, mighty, mite, mitre, nice, nightly, nitre, nitrogen, pike, pipe,
plight, rightful, righteousness, rice, sight, slighted, smite, snipe,
spice, spite, sprightly, stifle, strife, strike, thyme, tight, titan, title,
tricolour, trifle, tripe, tripod, trite, type, vice, viper, viscount,
vital, whiteness, wipe, write.
III. Ibis, idem, idle, idol, idyl, iman, ising-glass, island, ivy,
ivory, bible, bivalve? briny, bridle, climate, climax, cider, divers,
eider, fibre, finery, finite, Friday, libel, lilac, limature, migratory,
miner, miser, nidor, piebald, pilot, pineapple, primate, private,
riding, rising, rival, sidle, silent, sliver, spider, spinal, swinish,
tiger, trident, trinal, twilight, viminal, wily.
IV. I'd, ides, I'm, isle, I'll, bide, bile, bind, blind, blithe, bride-
well, bribe, climb, crime, digraph, divine, drive, file, find, five,
gibe, glide, grinder, grime, guide, guise, gyve, hind, hide, hithe,
hive, kindliness, kibe, knives, library, ligure, live, lithesome, alive,
livelihood, mild, mile, mind, pile, pine, pride, prize, quinine,
Rhinct rhyme, scribe, shine, sign, size, scythe, smile, stride,
stylet thine, thrive, thyme, timely, tine, tithe, tribe, trigraph,
twine, vibrate, vile whine, wide, wild, wile, wind, wiseling, withe,
wrythe.
V. I, bye, die, fiy, fy, high, lie, rely, my, nigh, pie, ply, rye,
awry, shy sigh, sky, sly, sty, thigh, thy» tie, try, vie, why, wry.
DIPHTHONG 7-13.
Obsebvations. — This diphthong, which la a blending of the extremes of the
vowel scale, on the labial side, as the preceding diphthong was of its extremes
on the lingual fflde, is a veiy common element of language. Its radical part is
liable to fluctuations of the same nature as those to which that of the preceding
DIPHTHONG 7-13. 105
diphthong is subject. The most usual English deviations from 7-13 as the ele-
ments of the diphthong are, to 5-13 or 6-13, though we sometimes hear 8-13,
and sometimes even 4-13. In Scotland, its general form is 9-13. In Ireland,
it is 10-13.
This diphthong before R, gives the triphthong 7-13-8, the middle element of
which in colloquial English is monosyllabically toned down into 11 or 10. The
ftill utterance of such words as our^ sour, &c. is however dissyllabic. They
are perfect rhymes to power, bower, &c.
Exercises.
Unctccented, — Ay(w<^ei boiestrophedon, brot(m-8tudy, ftmndation,
however, ourselves, otetbalance, outbrave, outbid, outdone, out-
number, outrageous, outshine, shrew-mot^se, tot^m-crier, vouchor,
vouchee, vouchsafe.
Accented, — I. Avower, avowal, bower, bowels, coward, cower,
dowagert dowered, lowery, now-a-days, ploughing, power, rowel,
scour, shower, sour, towel, tower, trowel, vowel, howitzer, our,
dowry, avowry.
II. Avouch, bout> chouse, clout, couch, couchant, cowslip,
crouch) doubt, doughty, drought, gout, grout, grouse, h^use,
knout, lout, mouse, nous, ouch, oust, out, outermost, outcry,
outhouse, outlaw, outline, outport, outrage, outset, pouch, pout,
rout, scout, shout, slouch, snout, souse, south, spout, sprout, stout,
tout, trout, vouch: bounce, bounty, bounteous, council, coun-
sellor, count, countenance, counter, countess, county, fountain,
frounce, mountain, mountebank, ounce, pounce, trounce.
III. Browbeat, cloudiness, dowdy, dowlas, drowsy, frowsy,
mouser, owlet, powder, roundelay, thousand.
IV. Bound, boundary, browse, cloud, clown, qowI, crowd,
crown, down, downright, drown, foul, foully, found, foundling,
fowl, frown, gownman, ground, growl, hound, house, (v.) howl,
loud, lounge, mound, noun, owl, pound, proud, prowl, round,
rouse, scoundrel, scowl, sound, spouse, stound, touse, town,
wound, (v.) blouze.
V. Avow, bow, bough, brow, cow, endow, frow, how, now,
plough, slough, sow, thou, vow, mow, (s.) prow.
O
106 EIGHTH VOWEL.
EIGHTH VOWEL.
Observations. — ^This is characteristically an English Vowel. Its position
in the General Scheme, (page 28) indicates its exact formation. It is inter-
mediate to ahy and the French sound eu; seeming to the attentive ear to
partake of the quality of both somids, and to be thus analogous to the tint
produced by the amalgamation of two shades of colour. As the colour varies
with the varying proportions of its elements, so, this vowel, among different
speakers, and in different dialects, partakes in a greater or less degree of the ah
or the eu. In London it is often heard as open as ah, (but this is a vulgarity,)
as in sarve for serve, sar for ^V, &c. ; and, in some of the English provinces,
it is pronounced almost identically with the French sound, — as in sceur for sir^
peur(/ect) for per(fect), &c.
The formation of this vowel differs but slightly from that of vowel 9 ; and
the difference between these sounds is therefore, though clearly appreciable, not
very strongly marked. This leads to a confusion, on the part of ordinary
speakers, of such words as^r and fur, earn and urn, jrc. ; but the audible
distinction, though slight, should always be preserved.
" John's wife and John were tete-a-tete ;
She witty was, industrious he ;
Says John, ' IVe earned the bread we've ate,'
' And I,' says she, ' have umed the tea.'
»ii
The changes which take place in the organic arrangement for vowels of tfiis
open class are not all within reach of observation. The vocal passage is
modified by the root of the tongue, and the parts immediately above the larynx.
The visible difference between the formations 8 and 9 is a slight depression of
the posterior part of the tongue, which directs the breath against the palate
somewhat farther hack for the 9th than for the 8th vowel. With so little
accuracy have sounds been observed, and their formations studied, that many
of our orthoepists — ^Walker for instance— consider this vowel the same as our
^th, and mark the er in ermine, perfect, Sf^, to be sounded with the same
vowel, as in elL Other authors,— as, for instance, those of the " phonotypic"
scheme,— consider this sound identical with our dth, and write the same vowel
mark in sir and surly, myrrh and murder, S^c,
This vowel is inseparably connected with the letter R in English. That
letter alone, after a long vowel, has invariably the sound of the 8th vowel ; as
4 8 4 8 2 12 1 8 2 IS 8 IS 8 2 .
in fai - r, fai -r -y, nea - r, chee - r - ing, poo - r, moo - r - ish, Sfc.
4 8 11 8 19 8
The terminations re and er have the same sound ; as in ca - re, co - re, lu - re^
98 IS 89898
ae - re, luc - re, wond - er, broth - er, S^c. The R in these terminations
has no articulative effect, but in such words aia fairy, cheering, moorish,, S^c,
where a vowel follows it, the R has both its vowel and articulative effect.
EIGHTH VOWEL. 107
Welsh and Irish speakers use the 9th mstead of the 8th vowel. In Scotland,
though the 8th vowel is not heard, the 9th is not its substitute. The letters e
and i before r, have the same sound as before other articulations,— ^/^/Z and
Jirm^ still and stir^ S^c, ; send and serve^ pension and person^ S^c, having
respectively the same vowel sounds. The reason of this is, that R has always
an articulative effect; it is trilled in all situations; it has no vowel eSeot
even when final. The termmations er and re have the peculiar Scotch vowel-
sound noticed at page 25.
The 8th vowel and its associated softening of the letter R, are so peculiarly
English, that they constitute a shibboleth to Scotchmen over the Border. In
practising the following lists of words to acquire this English sound, the
Northern student may at first proiiounce the syllables tr, er, re, Sfc,^ simply as
oft, — and without any R. By a littie practice he will thus check the tendency
to raise the tongue to the palate, and be enabled to produce the true sound
with precision. Frequently the mere efibrt to open the vowel to ah, and omit
the R, falls short of that point, and produces at once the precise English
element. The article the is often pronounced 8, when the next word does not
begin with a vowel.
Exercises.
Unaccented, — Certificate, circumferedice, Circuitous, ferment, (v)
herculean, hermitic, hirsute, mercurial, perhaps, perceive,
perception, percussion, perdition, petfection, perfidious, per-
force, petform, perfume, (v.) petfuse, ascertain, permit, per-
mission, permute, pernicious, perpend, perpetual, perplex, persist,
perspectiye, perspicuous, perspire, persuade, persuasion, pertain,
perturb, pervade, servility, sternutatory, tergeminous, thermo-
meter, verbose, vermilion, vernacular, verticity, vertigo, verbatim.
In r and re final after long vowels, — (the following words are
monosyllables,) — bier, peer, mere, fear, veer, sear, sheer, tier,
dear, near, leer, rear, gear, clear, here ; air, heir, hare, pear,
bear, mare, fair, where, wear, there, stair, share, tare, dare, ne'er,
lair, rare, yare, care, glare ; *par, bar, mar, far, star, tar, car ;
♦purr, fur, cur ; war ; hoar, ore, o*er, oar, pour, boar, more, four,
floor, wore, sore, shore, tore, door, lore, roar, yore, core, gore ;
poor, boor, moor, sure, tour, dure, lure, your, cure.
* In these words — ^the vowels 7 and 9 being so litUe difierent in formation
from r (8), — the separate vowel quality of R is not so perceptible as in the other
instances, in which a closer vowel precedes the r ; but sufficiently nice observa-
tion will detect the same final element in all these words.
lOS EIGHTH VOWEL.
In the terminational syllables, er, ir, yr^ re, &c. payer, weigher,
obejer, assajer, layer, gayer ; ire, higher, fire, pyre, mire, wire,
sigher, tire, dire, nigher, lyre ; our, power, plougher, bower,
flower, sour, shower, tower, dower, lower, (v.) cower ; employer,
alloyer, coyer; mower, sower, shewer, tower, (v.) lower, goer,
grower; sabre, fibre, briber, acre, massacre, meeker, striker,
ochre, lucre, nadir, pleader, cider, fifer, chafer, ephir, proifer,
differ, loafer, eager, tiger, ogre, wager, niger, railer, feeler,
beguiler, ruler, aimer, dreamer, emir, rhymer, roamer, plainer*
meaner, dinner, diner, owner, paper, sleeper, piper, hoper,
hopper, coopeir, airer, wearer, nearer, admirer, adorer, curer,
lacer, fleecer, nicer, grosser, grocer, looser, hater, lustre, hatter,
knitter, theatre, nitre, otter, voter, neuter, shutter, graver, ever,
beaver, quiver, diver, hover, lover, over, mover, raiser, teazer,
wiser, quizzer, poser, user, buzzer, washer, fisher, usher, rather,
either, wither, bother, clothier, soother, other, watcher, pitcher,
hatcher, botcher, butcher, impeacher, poacher, hanger, singer,
finger, monger, maugre. zephyr, martyr, satire, sapphire,
samphire.
Accented. — II. Chirp, perpetrate, herpes, serpent ; perfect, per-
fidy, perforate, serf; birth, dearth, earth, earthquake, girth, mirth ;
Chersonese, erst, hearse, first, mercy, mercenary, immerse, perse-
cute, person, personate, thirst, terse, verse, versatile, versify ; ter-
tian, version ; birch, certain, certify, dirt, fertile, flirt, kirtle, pert,
pertinent, shirt, skirt, merchant, smirch, spirt, squirt, thirty, ver-
tex, vertical, virtue, revert, myrtle ; circle, circular, circuit, cir-
cumflex, dirk, firkin, gherkin, irk, irksome, jerk, kerchief, mercury,
percolate, perk, perquisite, quirk, smirk, zircon, circumflex.
III. Stirrer, whirring, myrrhine, (sirrah, stirrup, squirrel,
sirup.*)
* These words are sometimes heard with the 2d vowel ; the others are al-
most uniformly pronounced with the 8th, to show their derivation from stir^ Hr^
whir, §fc. There is a tendency also to prefer the radical vowd-sound of
err, prefer, infer, S^c, in the derivatives erring, preferring, inferring, S(C, ;
but e and i before R followed by a vowel, have otherwise the same sounds
as before other articulations in the same predicament.
EIGHTH VOWEL. 109
IV. Herb, herbalist, verb, reverberate, verbiage, ermine, fer-
ment, (s.) firm, firmament, germ, germinate, hermit, kermes, mer-
maid, permanent, permeate, permit, (s.) sermon, skirmish, sperm,
term, terminate, termagant, thermal, thermoscope, vermin, myr-
midon ; cervical, fervent, fervour, nerve, nervous, serve, pervious,
servant, service, swerve ; tirwit ; kersey, sirs, hers ; bird, gird,
girdle, herd, merge, perdurable, perjure, third, verdant, verdict,
verge, verjuice, dirge, virgin ; earn, earnest, fern, kern, kernel,
learn, learning, stern, ternary, vernal, yearn, internal ; earl, early,
earldom, girl, merlin, pearl, sirloin, sterling, twirl, whirl, whirl-
pool, whirlwind ; bergamot, birgander.
V. Err, her, sir, stir, whir, myrrh, defer, prefer, aver, confer,
deter.
Distinguish between
kernel pearl pertinence pervade circle circulate
colonel purl purtenance purveyed surcle surculate
asperate asperation literal anker auger onerary
aspirate aspiration littoral anchor augur honorary
manner miner sailer raiser concert kerb
manor minor sailor razor consort curb
firs myrrhine earn wert fir ternary
furze murrain urn wort fur turnery
Wards of the same pronunciation, hut different orthography,
berth earnest herd verge
birth Ernest heard virge
NINTH VOWEL.
Obseryatioi^s. — ^In forming this vowd, the tongue is drawn back a de-
gree farther than for the preceding element — ^hardly midway to its position for
aw. This sound is always short in English, except when it occurs before i2,
final or followed by an articulation : it is consequently very liable to be changed
to the more fiimiliar long sounds ah or aw^ when it has to be prolonged, as in
singing. This arises, not from any difficulty in mfuntaining the 9 th position,
but fix>m the English organs being unaccustomed to maintain it. A Welshman
would have no trouble in prolonging the vowel to any extent, simply because
he is accustomed to form it as long as our ah or aw.
Among English speakers, there is too little pi'ecision in this sound. All the
110 NINTH VOWEL.
open vowels are liable to oonsiderable variation among individual speakers ; but
this vowel is perhaps one of the most indefinite and variable of any. It would
be well if at least a dear distinction were preserved between it and the preced-
ing fbrmation, in such words as urn and eam^ fur andjir, purl and pearly SfC,
but the erratic habits of both these vowels renders it the more difficult to con-
fine them to a settled location in the mouth. When the Art of speech shall be
more generally studied, these confiisions and ^versities will be condemned as
unworthy of the educated speaker. The ^rfect distmction of minutely differing
vowels is no less a test of polished and elegant speech than is the clear enun-
ciation of unaccented syllables the test of a good articulation. The power of
marking these vocal and articulate niceties with deamess, evidences a degree of
command over the vocal organs which is rarely obtained without considerable
application. It gives, besides, a precision and graceful variety to the utterance,
which should, of themselves, suffidently recommend its cultivation to the taste-
ful student.
9 13
In some English dialects, we hear, instead of u, a sound approximating to oo
IS n 19
— ^ranging in some cases between oo and o(re), and in others between oo and
the French vowd 4 or eu; aa in tnother^ one^ further^ Thursday^ &c. pro-
nounced m^ther^ vj^n^ f^^^^^i &c. It was probably a dialectic habit like
this of sounding o for the 9th vowd, which seduced a recent writer on English
sounds into the assertion, that the vowels in cup and cope are identical in qua-
lity, and £ffer only in quantity.* All these peculiarities arise generally fix)m
a habitual contraction of the labial aperture, and a too close position of the
teeth. Let the defective vowd be practised with a very open formation — even
though, at first, the sound be as open as <ih ; and the ear and organs will soon
be able to distinguish and form the 9th vowd with precision.
In Scotland, this dement is slightly less open, and of a deeper formation than
in England, — the tongue being farther retracted towards its position for aw.
This Scotch sound will be found separatdy noted in our general vowd-scheme
9
(page 28.) The open character of the English u will be readily acquired, by
simply opening the mouth well, and retracting the lips in its utterance ; and,
when it is followed by 72, final or before another articulation, by guarding against
9
any lingual vibration for the R, The Irish pronunciation of u has, like the
Scotch, a deeper formation than the English, — ^partaking more of the quality of
aw ; it will be Anglicised by the same means.
We take occasion here to notice the peculiar French sound eu, which, in ig-
norance of its mechanism, is often so difficult to the English mouth ; and to
bring it in contrast with the English 2^(9) — ^the formation of which is equally diffi-
cult to French organs. The 9th vowel is not heard in French : the nearest ap-
* PitmMi'a Phonography.
NINTH VOWEL 111
proach to it is the vowel eu^ as in jeune^ peur, &c. Frenchmen do not, how-
9 10 11
evesv pronoaoce eu instead of u, bat generally aw or o. They may with little
difficulty acquire the true sound of this vowel wl;ien they compare its formatiop
with that of their eu, the French eu is formed with the organs internally ar-
4. 10
ranged as for the English eh, and externally as for aw ; it is the compound, or
LahiO'lingual vowel corresponding to these simple Labial and lingual Forma-
tion8» (Let the English student of French apply this theory to his mouth, and
he will at once produce the perfect French eu. The simplest way to practise is
4
to dwell on the sound of eh, and, while doing so, to contract the labial aperture
10 9
to its ordinary shape for the. sound aw,) The English u is intermediate in for-
mation to aw apd ah. The French student of English cannot fail to produce
it by sounding the vowel ah, and while doing so, showing the organs slowly
to arrange themselves upon the sound, so as to modify it into aw. An acute
ear will trace several shades of vowel-quality in the progression from ah to aw,
9
The English sound of z^ is rather less than halfway between these points. : Hav-
ing acquired the formation, let the sound be pronounced as abruptly as the
vowel in que, de, &c., and it will be perfect.
Exercises.
9(short.) Unaccented, — Botnbast, bombard, bwflfoon, constel,
corpuscle, doubloon, ductility, jt«sticiary, fwngosity, lumbago, lus-
tration, multangular, multiloquous, punctilious, runcation, rustici-
ty, scurrility, stultiloquence, subdue, subjunctive, sublime, sub-
mission, subordinate, subscribe, substantial, subtract, subvert,
succession, succinct, suffice, sufiEuse, suggest, supplant, support,
suppose, suppress, susceptible, suspect, suspend, sttspire, sustain,
ulterior, umbrella, unable, uncertain, unclean, uncommon, un-
doubted, uneasy, unfold, unfortunate, ungainly, unhappy, unkind,
unless, unmerciful, ^unnecessary, unpleasant, unpopular, im^ues-
tionable, unravel, upon, unrol, unsafe, unseen, unsightly, unsound,
untidy, until, untrue, unusual, imwary, unwieldy, upbraid,* uphold,
uxorious, seldom, influx, impulse, bankrupt, bisniuth, medium,
odium, opium, earldom, birthdam, blithesome, i^earisome.
In the terminational syllables otis, us, ion, S^c, as in amphibious,
synchronous, pestiferous, somniferous, abnonnoiz&, enormoiiSj sy-
112 NINTH VOWEL.
uonjmous, dubious, conscious, studious, atrocious, jealous, mar-
yellous, oviparous, precious, syllabus, genus, incubus, genius,
momentous, troublous, gorgeous, ferocious, grampus, collection,
obligation, selection, elocution, delusion, collusion, omission, de-
mission, transmutation, vision, evasion, adhesion, version, question,
dudgeon, retention, dimension, attention, extortion, distortion,
intrusion.
9 (short). Accented. — II. Bluff, bufiUo, cuff, chough, gruff,
huff, muffin, muffle, enough, puff, ruffian, scuffle, slough,
snufi^ stuffing, suffer, suffocate, suffrage, tough, tuft, couple,
crupper, cup, puppet, scupper, supplicate, supplement, supple,
suppurate, upland, uproar, upward, abrupt, interrupt, nuptial ;
doth ; bluster, bust, buskin, bustle, cluster, custard, custom,
cusp, dusk, dust, fluster, frustrate, gust, gusset, husk, hustings,
joust, justice, lustre, musket, must, pustule, rusk, rustic, russet,
thrust, thus, trusty, percuss, discuss ; but, button, butler, buttress,
clutch, clutter, cut, crutch, cutler, flutter, glut, hut, mutter, much,
mutton, nut, nutmeg, putty, scuttle, shut, shuttle, strut, sputter,
subtle, utmost, utterance ; brush, crush, flush, hush, luscious,
mushroom, rush, usher, bucket, buxom, buzeous,chuckle, duck,duct,
ducat, flux, huckster, juxta, luxury, structure, succulent, suction,
truckle, tuck : blunt, brunt, bunch, constable, dunce, front, grunt,
hunch, hunt, junto, luncheon, month, punch, unto, bump, bump-
kin, chump, clump, consumption, comfort, company, comfit,
crumple, culpable, jump, lumpish, mump, pumpkin, something,
stump, sumptuous, trumpet, umpire, bulk, consult, cultivate,
dulcet, fulcrum, fulsome, gulf, hulk, mulct, multiform, multiply,
multitude, pulp, pulse, stultify, skulk, silk, sulphur, sultry, ulcer,
ultimate, vulture, result, wont, consult, function, junction, monk,
monkey, puncture, punctual, sunk, truncate, uncle, unction.
III. blubber, borough, brother, buzzard, chubby, colour, cou-
rage, cousin, covenant, cover, cully, cunning, cupboard, currant,
curricle, curry, double, dozen, drubbing, drugget, drummer, flurry,
furrow, gullet, honey, huddle, juggle, luggage, money, monetary.
TENTH VOWEL. 113
mother, mummery, nmmerj, puddle, rubbish, rudder, rugged, rum-
mage, shovel, shudder, sloven, slubber, smother, smuggle^ sum-
mer, study, stubborn, subaltern, sullen, summit, thorough, Thum-
mim^ druggist, surrogate, tunnel, worry, hurricane, shrubbery,
colander.
9 (long) only before B. — Purple, turf, surfeit, cursory, worse,
burst, hurt, curtain, workman, lurk ; suburban, worm, furze,
ourlyt churlish, furl, worldly, churn, burnish, furnace, turner,
urn, word, absurd, occurred, curdle, burden, purge, urgent,
urge ; purr, burr, murmur, fur, spur, slur, cur.
TENTH VOWEL.
Observations. — ^This vowel, called the German A, is formed by an in-
creased retraction and abasement of the root of the tongue, coapled with a slight
contraction of the labial aperture. It is perhaps the most melodious and mel-
low-toned of all the vowel-sounds.
Mr Knowles considers this the most open vowel- formation, 'but our experi-
ment, stated at page 23, proves that the oral aperture is considerably smaller
for this than for the 7th vowel ; and this latter may be proved bj a simple, and
conclusive experiment, to be the most open possible vowel-formation. Thus,
let the month be opened to the uttermost, — by widely separating the teeth, —
flattening the tongue, and drawing back the lips ; and if the vocal effort be made,
ah will result. Endeavour to sound aw, and it will be found impossible
to do so without relaxing the lips or approximating the teeth, and manifestly
reducing the oral aperture. In the light of experiment, there can be no ques-
tion of the relative openness of these vowels.
The sound of this vowel is often too much modified bj the lips ; their pro-
jection and corrugation— faults too common— are injurious alike to grace and
distinctness of articulation. It maj be stated to be one of the characteristics of
a good and practised speaker, that he forms his vowels as much within the
mouth as possible. The beautiful Oratorical Foice— the Orotund— which many
speakers acquire from long practice, but which may also be attained bj cultiva-
tion, tends very greatly to subdue the action of the lips in speech ; and this is
attended with another advantage, that it leaves the lips free for their higher
offices of emotional expression.
The habit of contracting the lips for this vowel is apt to modify it into the
next, viz. 11, or even into 12, to the confusion of such words as war and
wore ; scald and scold, &c.
In practising the 10th vowel for the reduction of the labial action, the totigue
P
il4 TENTH VOWEL.
should be drawn back as fiir as poseible, while the lips^xsudt^y ooTering the
teeth a little more— remain retracted as for ah. With the finger placed wider
the chin, close to the neck, the downward pressure of the root of the tongue
shonld be distinctly feh.
This vowel and the 7th are most irregolarly used in Scotland :— -words pro-
noonced with the 7th in EngUnd having the 10th in Scotland, and others hav-
ing the 10th m England being pronounced with the 7th in Scotland. Thus
10 10 7 7 7
the English what and walk^ are whdt and wdXk in Scotland, while star and
7 le 10
calm^ are staur and caulm. This exchange does not take place in words in
which the 10th vowel is represented by o or ou. In these cases, the vowel is
10 10 10 12
closed into 12 in Scotland ; as in momy bought, cost, S^c, pronounced mourn,
boat, coast, ^c. To correct these irregularities, let our lists of words under the
7th, 10th, and 12th vowels be fi*eqnently and carefully read. The English
pronunciation will soon become habitual ; for the formation of the vowels can
present no difficulty.
A peculiarity similar to the above is characteristic of the Irish dialect ; for
while in the diphthongs 7-1 and 7-13 the first element is changed into 10, we
hear the 10th vowel changed into, or almost into the 7th, in the great majority
of words in which it oeomrs.
The 10th vowel combines with the 1st to form a common English dif^thong
—heard in such words slb joint, joy, d^c.
Exercises.
10 (short) Unaccented, — Blockade, bronchotomy, cochineal,
cognition, collapse, collate, collect, collision, collude, cedlusory,
combustion, command, commensurate, commingle, commiserate,
commodious, community, commotion, compages, companion^ com-
pare, compeer, compendious, compete, complacent, complexion,
comply, compress, compute, conceal, conceive, concentric, concern,
conciliate, conclusion, concussion, condemn, condense, condign,
condole, condition, confabulate, confection, confer, ccmgeries, con-
gratulate, conjoin, conjunct, connate, consider, consign ; conspi-
racy, consummate, contain, converge, conyulse, correct, corroborate,
corrode, corrupt, cosmetic, costume, hoUoa, longevity, monsoon,
nocturnal, nonentity, obduce, oblate, oblique, obliterate, oblivion,
obnoxious, obscure, observe, obstreperous, obstriction, obstruct,
obtain, obumbrate, occasion, occlude, occult, occur, October, offend,
officiate, omnipotent, oncotomy, ophthalmic, oppose, opponent,
TENTH VOWEL. 115
ojpipress^ opprobrious, oppugn, ostent, ostensible, oxalic, pollute,
poltroon, poljlogj, poljmathj, pontifical, possess, posterity, progno-
sis, prosperity, quadroon, sialogogue, solstitial, somnific, spon-
taneous, spontoon, tontine, volcano, voltaic.
10 (short) Accented. — Block, blossom, blotch, boscage, boss,
botany, bottle, bottom, box, broth ; chocolate, chop, clock,
cloth, cochleary, coxcomb, cockle, cofifee, coffer, colossus, copper,
copse, copula, copy, cortical, Cossack, costive, cottage, cotton,
cough, crockery, crocodile, crop, cross, crotchet ; docile, doctor,
doctrine, document, dropsy ; , fiock, fop, fortify, fossil, foster, fox,
frock, frost, froth ; gloss, glottis, gnostic, gospel, gossamer, gossip ;
hospitable, hostile, hot, hough ; jockey, jocular, jocund, jostle, jot;
knock, knot; locket, loft, lottery; mock, moss, moth, motley,
motto, moxa ; nocuous, nostrum, notch, noxious ; Occident, occupy,
octave, ocular, off, otifeet, office, often, opera, operate, oppidan,
opposite, option, optics, optimist, opulent, oscillate, osseous, ospray,
ostler, ostrich, otter, ottoman, oxygen, ox, oxide ; phosphorus,
pocket, poplin, populace, populous, positive, posset, possible, pos-
tulate, pot, process, proctor, proffer, profligate, prologue, prop,
property, prophecy, prosecute, proselyte, prosody, prospect, pros-
per, prostrate, proximate ; quantity, quash ; rocket, rostrum, rot ;
scof^ sconce, Scottish, scrofula, shock, shop, shot, shocking, socket,
softly soften, sop, sophist, soporate, sot, squash, squat, stock,
stopple, strop, strophe ; theocracy, theology, theosophy, throstle,
tocsin, spot, topic, toss, totter, tropic, trot, troth, trough, twattle ;
vocative ; vash, wasp, wassail, watch, wattle ; bronchus ; com-
pact, competent, complex, complot, compromise, concave, conch,
concave, concord, concourse, confident, confluent, conquer, con-
scious, conscience, conscript, consecrate, consequent, consistory,
consonant, constipate, constitute, consuetude, contact, continent,
contraband, contrary, controversy, contumacy ; dolphin, donkey ;
font, frontal, frontier ; monster ; nonplus, nonsense ; pomp, pon-
tiff. Pontic, prompt ; romp ; solstice, swamp ; tonsil, tensile, ton-
sure ; wampum.
116 TENTH VOWEL.
III. Bobbins, body, bonnet, borrow, bother; cauliflower, chronic,
choler, chronicle, clog, clonic, cobble, college, colleague, collocate,
colloquy, colony, colophon, comedy, comet, comity, comma, com-
merce, commigrate, conunon, Corinth, coronal, corollary, correlate,
corrugate ; dollar, domicile, dominate, Doric, dromedary ; fodder,
folly, foreign, forest, frolic ; glomerate, goggle, grovel ; hobble,
hobby, hollow, Holland, holocaust, holograph, homage, holiday,
homily, homicide, horrible, hovel, honest, honour ; jolly ; know-
ledge ; laurel, lobby, logarithm, Lollard ; model, moderate, mo-
dest, mollify, monad, monarch, monitor, monody, monogram, mo-
nostich, monotone, moral ; noddy^ nomad, nominal, nonage, nosUe,
novel, novice ; obelisk, obolus, oligarchy, olive, ominous, oracle,
oraison, orator, orange, orifice, origin, orrery ; phonic, policy,
polish, pollen, polyglot, polypus, porridge, pother, probable, pro-
digal, prodigy, prominent, promise, proverb, provost ; qualify,
quality, quarrel, quarry ; rosin ; scallop, scholar, solace, solecism,
solemn, soUd, solitary, sonnet, sorrel, sorrow, sorry, sovereign,
squabble, squalid, stolid, swaddle, swallow ; theology, theodolite,
toddle, tolerate, tomahawk, tonic, torrid, torrent, twaddle ; volant,
volatile, volley, voluntary, vomit ; wadding, waddle, wallet, wal-
lop, wallow, warrant, warren ; zoology, zymology.
IV. Bob, bodge, bog, bond, bondage, bronze; clod, cobweb, cob,
cod, cog, cogitate, comrade, conder, condyl, congener, congregate,
congruent, conjugate, congress, convent, conversant, convex, cos-
mical ; dog, dogma, dogmatize ; fog, fond, for, (prep.) frog, from ;
globule, gone, goblet, gondola, gong, grogram ; hog, hogshead ;
job, jog, John ; lodge, lodging, log, logic, loll, long, longitude ;
mob, module, modulate, mollient, monument ; nod ; obdurate,
obduracy, oblong, obviate, obvolute, odd, odontalgy, omnibus,
omnium, on, onward ; plod, pod, pond, ponder, poniard, problem,
progeny, prong ; quadrant, quadrangle, quadruple ; rob, rod,
rondeau ; shod, shone, sob, sod, soluble, solve, somnolent, song,
spondee, sponsor, squab, squadron, squad, squander, strong, swab,
TENTH VOWEL. 117
swan ; throb, throng, tod, tongs, *twas ; voluble, volume ; wad,
wan, wand, wrong, wrath ; yon.
10 (long) Unaccented, — -41beit, although, altogether, auda-
cious, audacity, augment, aularian, aurelia, auricular, aurora,
austere, auspicious, authentic, authority, autocracy, automaton,
auxiliary, autumnal, discord, corporal, forbid, forgave, formation,
formality, glaucoma, laudation, mordacious, mortality, ordonnance,
ordain, orthography, ornate, organic, orthoepy, pauciloquy, salt-
petre, scorbutic, tautology, tomahatok, torment, (v.) traumiatic.
10 (long) Accented, — Boy, joy, oil, point, &c.; pawing, raw-
ish, sawest ; war, drawer, for, (conj.) border, chord, corpse, dor-
sal, forfeit, fork, fortunate, gorse, horse, hortative, morphia, re-
morse, mortify, mortuary, north, orphan, orpiment, orthodox,
porcupine, porphyry, porpoise, quart, quarter, quality, scorch,
scorpion, short, shorten, snort, sorcery, sort, sortilege, stork, swart,
swarthy, torch, torpid, tortuous, torture, vortex, warp : conform,
cord, cordial, cormorant, com, corner, corneous, comet, cornice,
dormant, dormouse, forlorn, form, formula, formidable, gorge,
horn, lord, lorn, morbid, morn, mortgage, normal, northerly,
orbit, ordeal, ordinance, ordnance, organ, orgies, orgues,
ornament, scornful, shorl, sorb, sorbile, sordid, storm, sward,
swarm, torment, (s.) war, warble, ward, warlock, warm, warn.
JI. auction, aught, auspices, author, authorize, autocrat, auto-
graph, autumn, awful, awkward, balk, bought, brought, calk, cauf,
cautery, caustic, caution, chalk, daughter, dauphin, falcon, fought,
fraught, haughty, hawthorn, hawk, laudable, lawful, lawsuit,
mawkish, naught, nausea, nauseous, nautical, nautilus, ought,
paucity, pauper, raucity, sauce, sausage, saucepan, slaughter,
sought, stalk, talk, taught, thought, vaunt, walk, water, wrought,
malkin ; also, altar, alter, balsam, Baltic, false, falter, fault, halt,
malt, salt, saltcellar, smalt, spalt, vault, waltz, want, wanton.
III. Auburn, audible, augur, August, aulic, bauble, caudal,
causey, daudle, gaudy, glauber, laureate, maugre, plaudit, plausible,
sawyer, solder, strawberry, tawny, thaumatrope, traulism.
118
TENTH VOWEL.
IV. Alderman, all, almost, audience, augur j, awe, awl, awm,
awn, bald, balderdash, baldrick, ball, bawl, brawl, brawn, broad,
caldron, call, caiise,caldron, clause, claw, crawl, daub^ dawn, drawl,
fall, fawn, flaw, fraud, ifraudulent, gall, gauze, gnaw, hall, halse,
khan, laud, lawyer, lawn, maul, maudlin, pall, pause, pawn, prawn,
scald, scrawl, shawl, shawm, small, spawl, spawn, sprawl, squall,
squaw, stalder, stall, tall, talbot, tawdry, thaw, wall, walnut, wal-
rus, yawl, yawn, yager.
y. Caw, draw, faugh, haw, jaw, law, macaw, maw, pacha, paw,
raw, saw, spa, straw, taw, yaw.
Distinguish between
aucupation
occupation
yawn
yon
pawed
pod
obduction
abduction
auricle
oracle
gnawed
nod
pawned
pond
occidentAl
accidental
fawned
fond
awed
odd
sawed
sod
shorl
shawl
gaud
God
lord
laud
awn
on
stalk
stock
stork
stalk
lorn
lawn
DIPHTHONG 10-1.
Obsbryations. — ^This is a beantiM diphthong, oomponnded of aw and ee.
It is generally somewhat longer than the diphthong 7-1 : this arises from the
less easy fluency of its elements. To modify the voice from ah to ee, the tongue
has only to ascend; while to modify it from aw to ee, the lips also must take
part in the action — and elongate the labial apertnre while the tongue rises.
ThAjirst part of the diphthong is very uniform among English speakers : the
second is less so, being very often stopped at t(2,) and sometimes even at a
more open portion. The Irish pronounce ahnost 7-1, for this diphthong, but
with the 7 longer than in the English utterance of that combination. In Scot-
land the first part of the diphthong is closed into (11) or (12) (monophthong)
which is usually united with the 2nd or Srd formation, for the second part.
K never occurs with 10-1 in the same syllable in English: the word
choir is pronounced qu-ire for greater fiicility of monosyllabic contraction. In
such words as coyer ^ destroyer^ &c, the full dissyllabic combination 10-1-8
is clearly preserved.
ELEVENTH VOWEL. 1 1 9
Exercises.
Vnaecented.—^ovaateTpoini, enYoy, cjclotd, monochotd, tro-
choid^ conchotd^ rhombotd.
Accented. — I. Bojish, joyous, jojance. buojanti coyish, annoy-
ing, loyal, loyalty, royal, royalty, moiety, voyage, voyager.
II. Boisterous, choice, cloister, coif, coistril, doit, foist,
goitre, hoist, joist, loiter, moisture, noisome, oyster, poitrel,
roister, quoit, voice, voiture. Joint, jointure, ointment, anoint,
appoint, pointedness, pointless.
III. Boiler, broider, coynesst cloyment, doily, embroider,
foible, hoiden, joinery, moidore, oily» poignant, poignancy,
poison, poisonous, spoiler, toilet, voidable zyphoides.
IV. Adjoint avoid, broil, coigne, coil, droil, essoin, foil, groin,
join, loin, moil, noise, noiseless, oil, poise» soil, soilure, spoiled,
toilsome, void.
V. Alloy* boy, cloy, hoy, joy, soy» troy, annoy, employ, buoy,
destroy.
ELEVENTH VOWEL.
Obsmbyations. — This is a fonnation interaiediate to a(ll) and o(Id) which
occurs in English instead of the latter vowel when before R in the same syllable.
The 12th vowel is a doong diphthong, and the open element 8(R) conld not
be pronounced after it in one syllable. This has led to the omisaon of the
seoond constitiient of the diphthcmg, and the opening of the first, before R, to
render the combination smoothly monosyllabic.
The open vowel quality of the English R draws all preceding closer vowels
to a greater degree of openness than they have before articulations. This is
paitioalaady noticed in the cases of the 9rd and 12th vowels, which are regnlariy
changed into the 4th and 11th before r(8) but the Ist and Idth—- the
dosest vowels — equally illustrate the tendency. Very few uncultivated English
speakers pronounce ee(l) or oo(13) distinctly before R, at least in conversational
utterance. Such words as heard, hereafter, earwig, merely, &c. cure, your,
pureneast &c., are flippantly pronomiced, 2-8 and 11-8 instead of 1-8 and 13-8.
However this may be passable in ordinary conversation, it must be reckoned
objectionable in more defiberate speaking, or in reading. In some cases, the
elose element, instead of being opened, is altogether omitted before r(8), as in
120 ELEVENTH VOWEL.
cheerM, future, courtesy, pronounced by many speakers, cherfuLf futyur^
curtesy or curtsy ; but general custom warrants this elliptical utterance only
1*8
in the last instance — ^die other words being correctly pronounced in full, che erful^
is-8
future^ &c.
•^ ' 11.8
There is a delicacy in the softly blending English combination o re which is
worthy of the attention of provincial speakers— especially of Scotchmen, whose
pronunciation of these letters is peculiarly harsh. In this lies one of those little
points, which are, perhaps, the most difficult to be separately appreciated, yet
which give to dialects their most prominent features.
That the English ll(o-re) is not the same as the radical part of the 12th
vowel (0-ooId),but a moi-e open formation, will be evident on comparing the Scotch
and English pronunciations of such words as ore^ shore^ chorus, porus, &c.
The Scotch o is the simple radical part of the English 0— oo(12) ; but it is dis-
tinctly different from the o(ll) before R in English. The rapid alternation of
the proximate formation aw— oh, aw — oh, &c., or oh — aw, oh — ^aw, &c., will
lead the ear to recognise the medial sound. The R final or before an articul-
ation must not be trilled.
The monosyllabic combination 11-8 does not invariably supercede the dis-
syllabic form 12-8 ; but in personal nouns, such as rower, sower, mower, &c.,
the vowel retains it diphthongal quality, and these words are thus distinguished
fi^)m such as roar, soar, more, &c.
Urictccented, — Forebode, forecast, foreclose, foredoom, forefend,
forego, foreknow, foreknowledge, foreshone, forestal, foretel,
forewarn, forereach, foreshorten, fourteen, portfolio, portcullis,
portmanteau, pourtraj, sycamore, transport, (s.) import, (s.)
bezoar, deportation, larboard, purport.
Accented, — Borax, boreas, doree, dorian, floral, forum, glory,
glorious, glorify, gory, hoary, horal, koran, morion, oriel,
orient, oriole, quorum, roral, scoria, scorify, sory, storax,
story, storied, tory, torus, decorum, aurora, porous, canorus,
censorious, chlorus, chorus, choral, inglorious, psora, pylorus,
sonorus, thorax, immemorial, Marmorean, notorious, uxorious,
yictorious ; coarse, course, court, courtier, courteous, courtship,
force, forcible, forth, fourthly, hoarse, porch, pork, port, portly,
portable, porter, porte, portico, port-hole, portion, portrait,
portraiture, source, sportive, sportsman, sport, transport, (v.)
report, support, apportion, deforce, deportment, fort, forte, import.
TWELFTH VOWEL.
121
discourse, discourteous, disproportion, divorce, enforce, perforce,
proportion, recourse, report, support ; board, borne, bourn, ford,
forefather, forefinger, foremast, foremost, forecastle, foreground,
foreland, forelock, foreman, forenoon, forepart, foresight, foretaste,
forerank, forge, form, (a seat,) fourfold, gourd, hoard, mourn,
shorn, som, sword, sworn, torn, tournament, towards, untoward,
afford, untom, unworn, horde, upborne ; boar, bore, core, corps,
door, encore, explore, floor, fore, four, gloar, hoar, lore, more, oar,
o'er, ore, pore, pour, roar, score, shore, snore, soar, sore, store,
swore, tore, wore, jore, adore, ashore, before, restore, implore,
explore, ignore, restore.
Distinguish between
blore
ore
tore
form (a seat)
blower
ower
tower
form (figure)
■gore
roar
torus
mourn
goer
rower
taurus
morn
hoar
hoer
lore
lower
shore
shower
sore
sower
hoarse
horse
wore
war
r import(toconve7into)
\ . ^®
^ import, (to signify)
import (s.)
import, (signification)
more
store
borne
mower
stower
born
TWELFTH VOWEL.
Observations. — ^This formation is, in English, invariably associated with
the closer form oo^ producing a labial diphthong, 12-13, corresponding to the
lingual diphthong 3-1.
The radicid part of this diphthong is somewhat closer than the preceding
element o(re)(ll), but it is hardly, perhaps, so much as half way between it
and oo(ze)(13.) The diphthongal habit tends to make the English mouth
throw thiff sound too open, so that the combination is somethnes even in
danger of being confounded with 7*13 ; but this is an extreme : less degrees of
openness, however, particularly to o(ll), are very common. In this respect,
as well as in several other points already noticed, there is a striking analogy
between vowels 3 and 12.
122 TWELFIH VOWEL.
A very conunon fault in the medianism of this sound consists in a pursed
projection of the lips to ** something like the shape of the letter o,^' (as the
student is actually directed in many of our Elocution books ;) but the roundness
of the month must be internal^ not external. The lips, for expression's sake,
should be used as little as possible in speech. To form this vowel the tongue shoald
be well depressed backwards, while the lips simply approximate a little. This
inward formation of is, besides, productive of a mellowness of tone which is
particularly agreeable, especially in public speaking.
The tendency of diphthongs to slide colloquially into a sound uitermediate to
their component elements, is illustrated in a veiy common Provincial English
ntterance of this vowel — ^noted m our General Vowel Scheme, (page 28,) as the
2nd Labial Formation.
In Sc(Hland this element, when attempted, is pronounced monophthongally.
The vowel may be perfectly Anglidsed, by simply allowing the sound to taper
into 00 before closing.
It 12
Thus, instead of foe < pronounce foe > «
12 I IS
" ho -•me " ho> IJnie
12 12
" no^te " no> *ite
The Northern Student will at first be apt to overdo this in quantity^ but
after a little practice he will have no difficulty in giving the requisite abruptness
to the combination. He may take confidence from our assurance, and he may
easily assure himself by experiment, that in the shortest utterance of the English
vowel the diphthongal quality is really heard. By comparing the English
and Scotch pronunciations of words contiuning o(12) before P, T, or E, as
hope^ moatj yoke, ^c, he will satis&ctorily and readily ascertsun this fact.
In Scotland the sound of a(3 monophthong) is common instead of o(12), as
in ^^7716 for home, st&ne for stone, aldne for alone, &c. In some districts a
closer lingual sound is used in such cases, and we hear stiin for stone, bifin for
bone, &c.
The 12th formation is comparatively seldom heard m Scotland : its most
usual substitute, however, is the 10th. Words in which the 12th vowel is re-
presented by ou or ol, as soul, mould, folk, bolster, &c. are pronounced with
the diphthong 9-13 in Scotland. In Ireland a amilar pronunciation occurs,
but not to the same extent. The 12th formation (but monophthongal) is
usually sounded in Ireland in words pronounced with that vowel in English.
Exercises.
Unaccented, — Alogy, also, allocation, amphiboly, ana-
qbronism, analogy, anecdote, annotate, antagonist, antelope,
antonomasia, apogee, apoplexy, apostrophe, apotheosis, apposite,
approbation, arrow, artichoke, autograph, barroto, bellicose, bene-
volence, bifold, bilbo, billou?, borou^^, borroir, botanic, brocade.
TWELFTH VOWEL. 123
broccoli, bufiiEda, burrot^, callow, cameo, canopy, cargo, cenotaph,
chromatic, chronology, coact, coagulate, coalesce, cocoon, coerce,
coeval, cohabit, cohere^ colony, colossus, coquette, coronal, cosecant,
crocodile, cuerpo, cupola, cynosure, daffodil, derogate, disobey,
dissonant, domestic, dominion, echo, elboto, elocution, eloquent,
embargo, embryo, esoteric, exodus, falloti?, farrago, fello«o, foUoio,
foment, frivolous, furloti^^, furroio, grotesque, halo, harroto, holloto,
hyperbole, immolate, imposition, inmost, inchoation, indolent, in-
nocent, innovate, inuendo, insolate, insolent, intaglio, interrogate,
introduce, inviolaMe, iodine, junto, kinsfolk, leo, limbo, malevo-
lence, manifesto, manifold, marigold, raaxrow, mausoleum, meadoto,
mellotc, methodize, metropolis, mezzo, minnoio, mistletoe, Mogul,
molest, molasses, monopolize, monotone, motto, mulatto, mosquito,
myopy, narroto, negro, neoteric, nitrogen, nobility, nosology, nota-
tion, obese, obeisance, obedient, obituary, oblige, obloquy, obsolete,
omit, omnipotent, opaque, operose, opinion, ottoman, ovolo, pal-
metto, panado, panoply, peony, philosophy, pilloie?, pleonasm,
poetical, polemic, police, position, potato, primrose, proboscis, pro-
ceed, proclaim, procure, produce, (v.) profane, profess, profile, pro-
late, quotation, quotidian, ratio, reciprocal, re-echo, reprobate, re-
produce, rogation, romance, rondeate, rosette, rotation, scare -croto,
scholastic, sciolist, dirocco, society, soever, solemnity, solicit, soli-
dity, sorroti?, stiletto, strappado, stucco, studio, sycophant, syllogism,
symphony, syncope, synonyme, systole, tadpole, talloto, tenfold,
theodolite, thorou^^, threshold, tobacco, tyro, upmost, variolous,
vertigo, veto, violate, violin, virago, vocation, volition, wallot^, zoology.
Accented, — I. Boa, oasis, poet, proa, proem, stoic, goer,
orthoepy, owing, mower, zoophyte.
II. Appro£ich, appropriate, atrocious, betoken, bloat, blowpipe,
boat, both, broken, broach, broke, choke, cloak, close, (a.) coach,
coast, coat, coax, cocoa, cohobate, cohort, coke, connote, copal,
cope, copious, croak, crocus, devote, devotion, dissociate, doat,
dose, (s.) dotage, elope, emotion, encroach, engross, ferocious,
float, £c>cus>, folk, grocer, grope, gross, hoax, hope, host, iota,
124 TWELFTH VOWEL,
jocose, joke, loach, loaf, loath, locomotive, locust, lotion, moat,
mope, mote, motive, motion, narcosis, negotiate, note, notary,
notice, notion, oaf, oak, oakmn, oat, oath, open, opium, opiate,
parochial, poach, poke, post, potable, potent, potentate, precocious,
procreate, prognocis, promotion, protest, (s.) quote, quota, quotation,
remote, reproach, revoke, roach, roast, rope, rotatory, rote, scope,
slope, sloth, smoke, smote, soak, soap, sociable, social, sofa, spoke,
stoker, stroke, throat, toast, token, tope, total, trophy, trope,
Utopian, vocal, votary, vote, wrote, yoke, yolk ; bolt, bolster, bolter,
colt, colter, dolt, holt, jolt, moult, molten, poultry, poultice, revolt,
volt, won't.
III. Aonian, bonus, bowline, Caledonian, clover, cobalt, curioso,
demoniac, diploma, encomium, ennoble, eolian, erosion, foliage,
folio, froward, frozen, gnomon, harmonious, hautboy, holy, imme-
lodious, inconsolable, incontrollable, inharmonious, inodorous,
mastodon, matrimonial, mohair, molar, moment, noble, October,
odious, odour, odorous, ogle, ogre, olio, omen, omer, onyx, op-
ponent, oval, over, overboard, overt, overture, ovine, pagoda, par-
simonious, petroleum, probate, Roman, roseate, sober, soda, solar,
spoliate, toga, trover, zodiac.
IV. Appose, arrode, atone, behold, blown, bold, bole, boll, bone,
bowl, brogue, close, (v.) clothes, clove, code, cogniac, cold,
coal, condole, cove, comb, corrode, crosier, depone, depose, de-
throne, dispose, doge, dole, dome, doze, droll, drone, explode, ex-
pose, flown, foal, foam, fold, gloze, groan, hold, hole, homely, hose,
hosier, impose, incommode, control, indisposed, infold, intone, knoll,
load, loam, loan, loathe, lobe, moan, mode, mole, mould, node,
nones, nose, ode, old, oppose, opprobrious, osier, own, parasol, pis-
tole, pole, poll, pose, prone, probe, propose, road, roam, roan,
rogue, roll, rose, rove, repose, scold, shoal, shown, shrove, sold,
soldier, sole, soul, stone, stove, suppose, swollen, though, thowl,
throve, throne, toad, told, toll, tone, troll, unload, uphold, vogue,
woad, wold, wove, zone.
V. Although, beau, below, bestow, blow, bo, bow, bureau, crow,
I
THIRTEENTH VOWEL. 125
dough, flow, foe, fro, glow, go, grow, ho, hoe, holloa, know, lo, low,
mow, no, owe, roe, row, show, sloe, slow, snow, so, sow, stow, thi'oe,
throw, toe, tow, trow, woe.
THIRTEENTH VOWEL.
Observations. — ^This is the closest of the Labial class of Vowels. In its
correct formation, the base of the tongue is depressed, and the lips are evenly
approximated. Its mechanism is veiy often rendered deforming to the mouth,
by the lips being *•*■ thrust out like a funnel." Indeed, this is the mode of
formation set down in the great majority of books which profess to give
directions on the subject ; but it is faulty in many ways, both to the eye and
ear. It muffles the voice, and deprives it of depth and mellowness ; it is a
hindrance to expressive utterance ; and it impedes the actions of articulation,
and renders them heavy, thus creating, or greatly aggravating, difficulty in cases
of stammering and defective articulation. The comers of the lips should meet,
and their central edges approximate, without projection ; and the depression
of the root of the tongue should be so firm as to round off the angle of the neck
and chin. The close position of the lips is merely required to lessen the
external aperture of the mouth, and, in whatever way this may be effected, the
13
sound win be modified into oo. The projection of the lips is therefore as per-
fectly unnecessary as it is unquestionably graceless.
This element, like the 1st, has an Articulative effect, when the modifymg
organs are further approximated during the continuance of the sound. By a
slight appulse of the lips, the vowel oo becomes the articulation W. Thus if
the lips be momentarily compressed between the finger and thumb while
sounding oo^ the voice will be modified into woo^ woo, woo^ ffc.
Words ending with oo are liable to the fault noticed with respect to £,
(page 80) ; the sound dies away in breath as the organs, assume their close
position. This habit will be easily corrected by prolonging the sound, and
sharply finishing it in the glottis, without waste of breath.
The thirteenth vowel is so associated with the articulation Y in English, from
the Alphabetic monograph U bearing the compound name Yoo, that the English
student has often some difficulty in believing that u = yoo is more than a
simple vowel ; but he must lose sight of letters in his study of sounds, and'
then he will be able to analyze this seemingly simple element, and detect in it
an articulative action, as well as a vowel sound.
In Scotland we commonly hear the 8rd Labio-Lingual formation H, (French)
13
instead of oo. This is the general Scotch pronunciation of words containing
13
00 represented by o or oo, as in do, too, &c. In some districts the Lingual sound
2 1
i or ee is used,— as in dee for do, sifen for soon, skill for school, fill for fool, &c.;
126 THIRTEENTH VOWEL.
and in long sylUbln, as when the vowel is final, the Third Towel (monoph-
thongal) is not nnoommon ; as in to€ for too, day for <2o, &c. Thus the
S12SS «siss
sentence, ** Poor John '5 so heated that he V just gone out to cool himself^'*
eoayejs to an English ear the rather startling assertion, that *^ John b so hated
that he has just gone ont to kill himself.'*
Element Thirteen is the common Scotch soond of the English diphthong 7-13,
as in house, plough, now, coto, &c. pronoonoed hoose^ ploo, noo, coo, &c.
In Irehind this vowel is seldom heard exactly as in England; the ver-
Bicolar soond osed instead of 00 is the Labio-Lingual formation prodoced by the
anion of the fi)nBation8-{~. This gives a very peculiar sound, which an E n gl is h
month win have some trouble to mould. The Irish sound will be Angtigsed by
simply holding the tongue well back; the labial position being the same as
for 00,
Exercises.
Unaccented. — Ambush, anteroom, arrowroot, • bivouac, bride-
groom, brunette, brutality, cesspool, cherubim, comminute, con-
gruous, courant, crtisade, faithful, ferula, fruition, fulfil, hurrah !
httzzah ! instrument, into, issue, pressure, prudential, prunello,
rendezvous, routine, rubescent, rupee, souchong, tissue, together,
toupet, treasure, unto, virulent.
Accented, ( short), ^IL Book, brook, butcher, cook, crook,
cuckoo, cushat, cushion, foot, footman, footstool, hook, look,
nook, partook, push, puss, put, rook, ruth, ruthless, soot, took,
pulpit.
III. Bosom, buUock, bullet, bulletin, bully, courier, fuller,
goody, pullet, pulley, sugar, unbosom, unwomanly, woman,
wcHnanhood, woody, wooUen.
IV. Bull, bullion, bulwark, full, fully, good, hood, pull, should,
stood, wood, woodman, wool, would, would-be.
^ (Long) I. AUeluiah, congruity, cruel, cruet, doer, druid,
fluid, gruel, incongruity, insure, poor, rou6, ruin, sure, surety,
tour, truism, your.
II. Behoof; boot, booth, booty, bouquet, brutal, caboose,
coop, coot, croop, crucify, croupier, droop, fluke, flute, fruit,
fruitage, goose, croup, ho(rf, hoop, hoot, hookah, inhoop, in-
scrutable, loof, looping, loose, moot, peruke, poop, proof, recruit.
THE ASPIRATE, H. 127
reproof, roof, roost, route, rufous, ruler, rutilaut, schooner,
scruple, scrutable, shoot, sloop, sooth, soup, spruce, stoop, tooth,
troop, truce, truth, uncouth, whoop, wootz, wooi^ jouth.
III. Cerulean, booty, doodle, foolish, frugal,- gloomj, looby;
manoeuvre, moonish, obtrusion, oozj, ousel, prudent, prudish,
removal, rheumatism, rhubarb, ruby, rudiment, ruminate, ru-
mour, schooling, smoother, souvenir, trusion.
lY. Admove, approve, balloon, behove, bldom^ boon, boom,
bouse, brood, broom, bruise, brucine, buffoon, cardoon, cartoon,
choose, cocoon, cool, crude, cruise, detrude, doom, doubloon,
food, fool, galloon, gloom, gouge, groom, groove, harpoon, improve,
intomb, loom, loon, lose, maroon, monsoon, mood, moon, move,
noon, noose, ooze, pantaloon, peruse, picaroon, bigaroon, platoon,
poltroon, pool, prove, prude, prune, remove, reprove, rheum,
rood, room, rouge, rubric, rule, ruse, saloon, - school, shrewd,
smooth, soon, soothe, spoon, spontoon, spool, stool, swoon, tool,
whose, whom, womb, wound, yule.
V. Accrue, ado, beshrew, bestrew, brew, coo, crew, do, drew,
halloo, Hindoo, loo, ormolu, ragout, rue, screw, shampoo, shoe,
shrew, strew, taboo, tattoo, threw, throi^gh, too, true, two, undo,
who, woo, you.
THE ASPIRATE, H.
Observations. — ^We have shown, at page 36, that the letter H does not
represent any fixed formation, but simply an (v^ration of the succeeding
element. Thus H before e is a whispered e, before a a whispered a, &c.-«dif-
fering, however, firom the simple whispered vowel by the inexplasive commence-
ment of the aspiration, as before explained ;~4uid H before alphabetic u —
which, it will be remembered, r^[nesent8 the combination y-oo--.denote8 a
whispered T, as in hue^ human^ &o. pronounced Yhiie «= Yhyoo^ Yhuman, &c.
Some writers analjae the combination Why correspondently, into Whw ; and
it must be acknowledged thai many persons do pronoonce sudi words as what^
ivhichy when, &c. with a Vocal 9& well as a Breath W^^^Whwat, Whwen^
&c.-^at this is by no means the general mode. Wh— -the Breath W-^ often
in these words used independently; although its lingual correspondent, the
Breath T, is not so used in English.
128 THE ASPIRATE, H.
English speakers too commonly omit the aspirate of Y and W, and so
confound m their pronunciation, such words as liue and you^ which and witch^
whale and wail^ whither and wither^ whig and wig. These aspirations are very
unwelcome to the English mouth, but they can only be omitted at the expense
of ambiguity. How very awkward to have a brother named Hugh. — " I as-
sure you I gave the book to 'Ugh." " I beg your pardon, — that you certiunly
never did." " Upon my honour ! — 'Ugh cannot have forgotten it." " I ! —
come, come I" " You ! no, no, I did not mean yoM, but ' Ugh^ — your brother
'Ugh !"
The Vowel aspirate is very irregularly used in many parts of England ; it is
heard when it should be silent, and silent when it should be sounded ; and that
with such perverse obstinacy that pure initial vowels are almost unheard, except
in cases where they ought to be aspirated. A gentleman dming on cold hare,
astonished his entertainer, by exclaiming, ^^ The hair is very 'ot. Explaining
himself, when he observed the misapprehension, he said, ^^ I mean the hair we
breathe^ and not the 'are weWe heating ^
This remarkable perversity of custom has been amusingly made the sub-
ject of a petition in verse from the letter H to the inhabitants of Shrewsbury,
who are notorious for then: haddiction to this abit.
Whereas by you I have been driven
From Hotise, from Home^ from Hope^ from Heaven ;
And placed by your most leam'd society
In Ills^ and Anguish^ and Anxiety :
Charged, too, without one just pretence,
"With Atheism and Impudence^ —
I now demand full restitution.
And beg you'll mend your Elocution !
To this petition by the Rev. R. W. Evans, an aspiring Shrewsbury poetess
aptly rejoined : —
Whereas we rescued you, ingrate.
From Horror^ HavoCy and from Hate^
From Horse-pondy Hungering^ and fix)m Halter,
And consecrated you on Altar, —
And placed you, where you 'd never be.
In Honour, and m Honesty ;
We think your talking an intrusion,
And shall not change our Elocution.
Many public speakers contract a very disagreeable habit of ^ving a vocal
commencement to H,— ixAoZrf, Uhundred, &c., — as if feJirful that otherwise it
would not reach the ears of then: auditors. But if it be legitimately aspirated,
and no more, it will not fail of audibility : the succeeding vowel makes it heard
far better than can the tasteless expedient of puttmg a vowel sound before it.
THE ASPIRATE, H. 129
A Northern habit of fonniug, or rather deforming tlic II, oonsists in giving a
degree of gattural compresdon to the breath, by approximating tlic base of tiio
tongue and the soft palate, producing the effect of the Scotcli cA, which other-
wise is not used as an initial sound. There is sometMng in this Highland pe-
culiarity extremely harsh and grating to English ears. It should be studiously
avoided,— and easUy may be, — by all who aim at propriety in speaking English.
Let the Stammerer study attentively the characteristics of the letter H. It
18 invariably a severe stumbling-block. He will find that, in his fruitless efforts
to pronounce it, or rather to pronounce the vowel after it, his chest is bearing
down with collapsing force, and the breath welling out in heavy spouts from his
convulsed glottis. A useful exercise to check this, consists in prolonging an
expiration as much as possible. Let tlie lungs be iuUy inflated^ by expanding
the chest to its utmost breadth, and then let the breath be emitted slowly, softly,
and equably in one unbroken streamlet. After a little practice, the whispered
expiration will be continuable almost as long as a vocal one, — a vowel. The
junction of tliis breathing with the vowels must next be aimed at. Thus : — iltcr-
uate, in the prolonged expiration, the voice and the whisper of the same forma-
tion, h-e-h-e-h-e, Sfc, ; h-o-h-o-h-o^ Sfc. If the difficulties with initial vowels
have been first worn off, the Stammerer will not be long in subduing this, — ^per-
haps the most troublesome feature in his impediment. Habit, — strong habit, —
will, for a time, baffle his skill, or try it sorely ; but steady perseverance will
overcome even the tyranny of habit.
Exercises.
Initial. — Heap, heave, hillock, hymn, hatred, heinous, he-
terodox, hairy, habitable, hand, hasp, hearken, halve, her, hum,
hurl, hospital, haughty, horsemanship^ horal, hopeful, homely,
hood, hoof, who.
Medial. — Abhor, ahoy ! behold, behest, behemoth, dishearten,
enhance, forehand, heigh-ho ! inhibit, mahogany, manhood, nihi-
lity, out-Herod, outhouse, parhelion, perhaps, prehensile, rehearse,
unhappy, vehement.
In the following words, though H is written, the vowels arc not aspirated : —
Heir, heirship, heirloom, &c. ; honest, honesty, &c. ; honour,
honourable, &c. ; hostler ; hour, hour-glass, &c. ; humble, humbly,
&c. ; humour, humourous, &c.
11
130 ARTICULATIONS.
DICTIONARY OF ENGLISH SOUNDS.
SECTION SECOND — ARTICULATIONS.
We have already explained the leading General Principles of Ar-
ticulation, and given a complete scheme of the Articulate Ele-
ments of our Language. We shall now proceed to offer some
Practical Observations on each of these elements, with reference
to their formations, defects, coinbinations, d/C, and to furnish sets
of Exercises, in the practice of which the student will be enabled
to acquire perfect mastery over the Instrument of Speech.
This department of our work will, we trust, be of especial ser-
vice to Teachers, Parents, and others who have the management
of children, in enabling them to prevent, or check by timely skill,
the formation of habits of Defective or Uncouth Articulation, and
to direct the vocal efforts of children in such a way as to insure
their speaking with fluency, grace, and distinctness.
To the Lisping, Burring, Mumbling, and Mouthing " children
of a riper growth," who are conscious of their cacophonies, and
desirous to correct them, these Observations and Exercises fur-
nish the means of removing such articulative blemishes. To the
Public Speaker they offer Principles and Praxes such as, in ap-
plication, cannot fail to give Articulation its highest effectiveness.
The Stammerer will find many remarks under the different Ele-
ments, which will be of much service to him, both as directory and
cautionary assistances. An intelligent and a practical acquaint-
ance with the Mechanical Principles of Speech is the only rational
foundation for a system of cure. We cannot better advise the
Stammerer than bid him study well the Natural Principles of
Speech. Knowing them familiarly, he must be dull indeed who
does not work out a large measure of improvement from them.
ARTICULATIONS,
131
¥oT perfect freedom from impediment, however, Oral Instruction,
and the vigilant eye and ear of a master — ^who can ''follow Na-
ture^* in his Art — ^majbe, in almost all cases, necessary. To no Art
must the Poet's definition of ** TrueArf* be more strictly applicable
than to the Art of Speech as applied for the eradication of Stam-
mering. It must be, merely, " Nature — to advantage dressed.'*
The following Table exhibits the Articulations in the order in
which we shall now treat of them : —
Artiealatiout.
Initial.
Fiual. Between Vowels. BeforeanArtieulatioi
I. P,
as in pay
ape
paper
apricot
II. B,
a • • Dee
glebe
neighbour
ably
III. M,
mar
arm
army
arm'd
IV. Wh,
... why
—
awhile
—
V. W,
... way
—
away
—
VI. F,
... fed
deaf
definite
deftness
VII. V,
... veal
leave
evil
ev(e)ning
VIII. Th,
. . . third
dearth
ethic
ethnic
IX. Th,
these
seethe
either
wreath'd
X. s.
... sell
less
essay
estuary
XI. z,
zone
nose
rosy
rosebush
XII. R,
. . . rare
—
rarity
XIII. L,
. . . left
fell
fellow
feU'd
XIV. T,
... tale
late
later
lateness
XV. D,
... day
aid
trader
tradesman
XVI. N,
... nave
vain
waning
mainland
XVII. Sh,
... shelf
flesh
fisher
fishmonger
XVIII. Zh,
... giraffe
rouge
pleasure
hedgerow
XIX. Y,
... ye
fille (French)
cayenne
—
XX. K,
. . . cap
pack
packet
packthread
XXI. G,
... gum
mug
sluggard
smuggler
XXII. ng.
...
sing
singer
singly
132 ARTICULATIOiNS— P.
Observations. — ^The formation of ibis letter consists, Ist, in a firm and
equal contact of both lips, so as to retain the breath perfectly behmd them while
it is compressed within the mouth ; and, 2nd, in an equal and rapid disjunc-
tion of the lipe to allow the compressed breath to escape — ^which it should do
with a degree of distinct explosiveness. If the contact of the lips be not suffi-
ciently firm to stop the breath, the letter will strike the ear like F; and if their
acticm be heavy, the p will be altogether inaudible when final, and very ungrace*
ful, and injurious to distinctness in other atuations.
While the lips are in contact, there should be no pouting, or motion of any
kind ; their separation should be by one light and uniform action, so that the
whole lips may be simultaneously disengaged ; for if they are projected and
pushed asunder — as they not unfipequenUy are — ^the features are needlessly de-
formed, and many faults, both of articulation and expression, are created. P
before i^ or F, is in this way rendered an impossible combination, or at least an
excessively ugly one in the attempt ; and many of the vowel sounds also suffer
in quality from the contracted and rounded aperture of the mouth. The comers
of the lips must be brought apart, or all the vowels fi:om ee to ah will be more
or less injuriously affected. Besides, the liabit of forming the labial-articula-
tions in this loose and wrig^ing way interferes much with the expresdve power
of the lips in the manifestation of feeling. The moutii is tiie best and most ex-
pressive index of emotion, and that whose signs are least capable of suppression.
The eyes have been called tiie '^ windows from which tiie soul peeps forth ;" —
we should call the mouth the door by which she actually comes forth. But if,
by ungainly habits of speech the delicately-varying expressiveness of tiie mouth
may be defeated, how important — ^to the orator and physiognomist at least —
must be the power of regulating the articulative motions of the Hps.
Where tiiere exists any fault in the formation of this letter, we should pre-
scribe the following Exerdse, which will be found easy and highly improving.
Practise words containing the letter P in tiie four situations indicated in tiie
Table, and keep the lips in firm contact for some seconds at each P,-i^bfierving,
that whne tiie pressure of breath is continued, tiiere is no motion of any kind
in tiie lips. Observe, also, that there is no escape of breatii by the nostrils.
Tliis exercise will subdue, and, with a littie care, soon remove the tendency
to labial mal-articulation. It will be found very useful to Stammerers, who
experience difficulties firom want of power over the fiuaal musdes. The lips,
in many cases of Stammering, are so tremulous and feeble in thdr motions, that
they cannot retain the breath under the slightest pressure, but start off again
the instant they meet, causing repetitions of the labial syllable— 7>a-/)a-pa-
paper. Sometunes the upper lip is held so loosely, that in tiie effort to sepa-
rate the lips it will descend with the lower lip, as if glued to it, dragging down
the nostrils, and deforming the whole coimtcnancc. The vppcr Up should have
ARTICULATIONS— p. 1 33
a£ little motion as posBible, aud it should never be depressed below the edges
of the upper teeth.
The letter P presents another difficulty to Stammerers, from an upward pres-
sure of the lower jaw locking the under teeth within the upper range, while
the lips are in contact. This renders a downward *motion of the jaw, as well as
of the lip, indispensable to finish the letter ; and the teeth are thus fordbly jerked
down, again to be jammed upwards in fruitless repetitions : and often, instead
of disengaging the jaws by the descent of the lower teeth, the Stammerer puts
the efibrt of separation into the headf and tosses it backwards, or draws it from
ude to side. P is a formidable difficulty under such circumstances ; but a care-
ful study and practice of the correct formation of the letter will soon remove this
source of impediment, and correct any fault that may interfere with grace or
distinctness.
P is an obstruction of breath only ; there is no effort of voice in its forma-
tion ; it has no sound but the explosion of breath which finishes it. A fault is
oilen created by the too forcible conjunction of the lips, which gives a degree of
audibility to their meeting ; and this, in an aggravated degree, accompanied by
deficient glottal power, often produces Stammering of a very heavy and con-
vulsive kind. The lips, and the organs of articulation generally, should assume
the position required for the different formations, gently, smoothly, and slowly,
— ^retain it firmly while the breath is compressed behind or between the articu-
lating organs, and by an energetic disjunction, give off the explosive effect of
the articulation with rapidity. The letter P having no other element of audi-
bility than this explosion, can never be deprived of it without producing indis-
tinctness or difficulty.
We may exjp^ss in a sentence the great leading characteristics of good and
bad articulation. The energy of vocal action is disjunctive in good speaking,
and conjunctive in heavy or impeded utterance ; that is to say, the contact or ap-
proximation of the organs is light in the one case, and heavy in the other; — the
general direction of the actions is downwards from articulations to vowels in
good speech ; and in indistinct or stammering speech, the force of the actions is
upwards firom vowels to articulations. In order to be clearly understood, with
reference to the letter P, then, we observe, that it is not made by the conjunc-
tion of the lips, but by their separation ; and this of course implies that they
must be in contact before they can be disjoined. If the Stammerer, and the
Mumbler, and all classes of bad speakers, could apprehend and apply tliis prin-
ciple of articulation, they would soon rejoice in distinctness aud fluency.
We must farther observe, that in separating the lips there must be no jerk-
ing of the jaw. If a vowel follow the P in the same syllable, the teeth should
descend for the vowel as fireely as possible, but the P itself must have no motion
of the teeth, either upwards when the lips meet, or downwards when they se-
parate. The teeth should remain apart even when the lips arc in contact. If
while the lips are in the articulating position, the tongue be advanced towards
them, it should feel that the teeth are apart, and that howcYor great mny be the
pressure of breath, the teeth remain perfectly steady.
134 ARTICULATIONS— P-
There is some little art I'equired to make P audible when it occurs in con-
nexion with any of the other obstructive articulations^ as in nap-ldn^ step-
quickly^ slep-t^ cheap-tea, scape^goat, ^c. To master this difficulty, a little
practice of the following Exercise will be found effectual : —
ape tay ape kay ape day ape gay, — ^with e, I, o, oo.
ap tap ap cap ap dap ap gap, — ^with ^, i, 5, tL.
In finishing this and other articulations, it is highly important in every case
of difficulty, to notice that the issue of breath be restrained immediately on the
organic separation. If the breath pour out in a continuous stream, the chest
will fall, and the lungs will soon be exhausted. It is the want of this power to
retain the breath after articulations which causes the groat difficulty which Stam-
merers experience in joining articulations to succeeding vowels. They will
often get smoothly over the consonants, and stumble at the vowel, utterly un-
able to connect the two. They must bear in mind that the breath in articu-
lation is exploded /rom the mouth, and not from the chest. The space within
which the air is compressed is above the glottis, and the effect of the compres-
sion must not be communicated-below the glottis.
When a word cont^dns the combination /)p, the effect of only one p is heard ;
as in apprise, upper, supplicate, S;c, ; but when one word ends with P, and
the next conunences with the same letter, they should in general be separately
articulated. Two j7^s can only be made by a repetition of the action of one. B
and M, being formed by the same labial action as P, will not blend with that
letter ; but the P must be separately finished when it comes before them. Not,
however, when it is in the same word, as in upbraid, upborne, upmost, top-
most, Sfc, where the P is a mere stop of the voice. In cupboard, the b only
is heard, and in subpoena the b is sunk, and p heard.
It was noticed at page 48, that the nasal letters M, N, NG, must have
the breath perfectly obstructed by the mouth, in order that the current of sound
may pass completely through the nostrils ; it follows, therefore, that any of the
obstructive letters coming before either of the nasal elements, must be finished
indep^dently of the nasal letter, or the explosion which necessarily results firom
compression of the breath, must pass through the nose. This cieatcs a degree
of sniffling which is very ungraceful, and which may be easily avoided by a light
and rapid articulation of the explosive element. PorB before M, must, from the
hiatus caused by the repetition of the same action, be allowed to nasalize their
explosions when they meet in one word, or in conmion phrases ; but there is no
excuse for sniffling the explosions of 2\ D, K, and G before M, for they are
produced by actions which may be rightly performed without at all disturbing
fluency of articulation. On the same principle, 7* and D before iV in the same
word, must lose their oral explosiveness ; but the four other obstructives (P, B,
K, G) shoidd never be allowed to do so in the same situation.
P initial, combines only with /, r, and y in English ; therefore in all the
ARTICULATIONS— p. 1 36
other oombinations which we write^ namely, pn^ as in pneumatic ; ps, in psalm ;
pty in ptarmigan^ Sfc. tlie p is silent. Pw is a common French combination,
as in poids^ (^pronounced pwah.)
Exercises.
Initial, — Pier, pean, peal, peat, piece, pique, peep, peevish,
pibroch, pigeon, pickle, pimple, pippin, pivot, pith, pitj, pinguid,
pace» pathos, Paphian, pavement, paper, pepper, pebble, pestle,
pettish, pap, pabular, pamphlet, papaverous, pavilion, pabulum,
pass, path, paternal, palatial, pagoda, parboil, parmezan, parvi-
tade, partisan, perceive, percolate, peifect, permeate, perk, per-
haps, puppet, public, pump, puff, purchase, purple, pugnacious,
pucker, pauper, popish, put, poop, pipeclay, pounce, point, poig-
nant.
PI, — Plague, placable, plait, played, place, plays, pleonasm,
plethoric, plenary, pliable, plight, plinth, plod, plot, pluvial, plural,
plum, plump, plunder, plush, plough, plant, plasm, plaudit, plau-
sible, platoon, Platonic, pledge, plenitude, plexus, plicature, plover.
Pr, — Practice, prairie, praise, prate, pragmatic, prank, prattle,
pravity, prawn, prayer, prebend, precarious, preamble, precious,
precipice, preclude, predal, predicate, preface, prefer, pregnant,
prepare, preposition, presbyter, pretend, preterit, pretty, previous,
prevalence, privilege, privative, proper, probable, probe, prove,
prime, proud.
Pff, — Puce, pudency, puerile, pugilist, puisne, puissant, puke,
pule, pumice, pupil, pure, putative, putrid, pewter, pew.
Between vowels, — Sleepy, reaper, pippin, sippet, paper, apex,
epoch, pepper, wrapper, napping, cupper, supping, pauper, stopper,
hoping, shopping, topic, toper, stooping, cooper, piper, viper.
Before an Articulation, — Chapter, styptic, reptile, rupture,
captain, cheapness, grapnel, shapely, haply, deeply, toppling,
supplicate, April, apricot, cupreous, upright, napkin, pipkin,
stopcock, upshot, upward, naphtha, knapsack, apt, strapped, wept,
kept, whipped, shipped, popped, cupped, shaped, steeped, piped,
hoped, cooped, steps, whips, mops, pipes, grapes, hopes, hoops.
Final, — Sleep, peep, weep, dip, ship, pip, shape, escape, step,
cap, sap, flap, trap, clasp, carp, chirp, bishop, stirrup, cup, sup,
shop, lop, fop, hope, rope, elope, scope, soap, stoop, soup, coop,
poop, loop, dupe, croop, group, hoop, pipe, wipe,ripo, snipe.
136 ARTICULATIONS^B.
B
Observations. — This articulation dififers from the precediug in no de-
gree, extent, or continuance of labial pressure, (as has been erroneously sup-
posed,) but in the employment of an apparatus unused for P,-^i. e. the vocal
organ^^u addition to all the action, compression of breath, and explosive force
of P. The external action of both letters being the very same, our remarks on
the formation of P, will equally apply to this articulation. If the junction of
the lips be too feeble to intercept the breath, the letter will sound like V ; and
if their action be heavy and sluggish, pouting, or unsteady, the same faults
and difficulties will be produced which were noticed under the head of P. While
the Hps are in contact for P, there is 710 sound produced ; the prolongation of
the contact only prolongs silence ; bnt in B there is a sound heard while the
lips are closed. The glottis is put into the vocalizing position, and the breath
in passing through it creates sonorous vibration ; during the continuance of which,
the nedc, at its junction with the chin, will be observed to distend. This arises
from the swellmg out of tlie pharynx, an extensible cavity at the back of tlie
month, into which the stream of air from the glottis, unable to escape by the
mouth or nares, forces itself. The muffled vocal sound which is heard during
the distension of the pharynx ceases as soon as that compartment is fnlly in-
flated, and can only be renewed when the pharyngeal muscles have been allowed
to contract. Many persons are deficient in phaiyngefd power, and conse-
quently unable to produce the shut voice in these elements ; so that B, D, and
G are hardly distinguishable from P, T, and K. This whispering of the Voice
Articulations is a remarkable characteristic of Welsh speakers. But afler a
little practice the power of vocalizing the obstructive formations will be perfectly
acquired. Let the student dwell on the articulation as long as posable m its
various situations ; and though, at first, he may only be able to produce but a
momentary stroke of voice, he will soon develop a power in the pharynx which
will enable him }o continue the sound for a couple of seconds. There must be
no sHent pressure as in P ; the vocal murmur must be heard, or he is not prac-
tising B. It is necessary to guard against the slightest nasal sound in this
exercise. The nasal tubes open fi^m the pharynx, and if they are not perfectly
dosed by their natural valve — the soft palate, — the pharynx wiU not distend ;
it is then a Uaky hag^ and cannot be inflated.
In forming B, and indeed the Obstructiye articulations generally, the com-
pression of breath must not cease until the external contact terminates, or the
explosiveness will be lost. It is a peculiar characteristic of some varieties of
Stammering, that the vocal part of B, D, and G, will be heard perfectly, whilo
die letters toiU not out. The Stammerer repeats the articulation again and
again with the phaiyngeal murmur distinct, yet without the least explosion fol-
lowing. He is oonsequentiy unable to connect the initial letter with the suc-
ceeding vowel. In this case, the muscles which constitute the sides of the
pharynx contract too soon ; the instant they yield to the pressure of air, they
again collapse, — either from a want of power in the muscles themselves, or
from the Stammcrcr*s inability to continue |hc effort. Whatever be tlie cause
ARTICULATIONS— B. 137
of the impediment, energetic practice will soon remove it, and develop the ne-
oessaiy power.
B'initial combines with Z, r, and y, Bw — ^whioh is a frequent French com-
7
hinaHon, as in boire (pr. bwar) — ^is heard in English in Bvoy^ Buoyant^ &c.
In the Jinal combinations^ mb and bt^ b is silent^ as in dum&, bom&, doudt,
de5t, &c.
B before M in the same word^ as in cabman^ is not finished by a separation
of the lips ; but before N, the explosive finish of the B should be clearly heard.
The following Exercise should be practised until its combinations can be thrown off
with distinctness, grace, and lightness. The combinations should be pronounced
as words with the accent sometimes on the 1st and sometimes on the 2nd
syllable.
abe-tay abe-kay abe-day abe-gay abe-nay — with e, T, 6, 6o.
ab-tab ab-kab ab-dab ab-gab ab-nab — with S, I, 6, d.
The combination BB in the same word sounds like single B ; but when one
ends with B, and the next be^ns with that letter or with M, — unless the words
form an unimportant phrase, — the lips should be separated between the articu-
lations.
abe-bay ? with e, T. ab-bab \with g, t.
abe-may J — o, oo. ab-mab / — 6, ii.
Exercises.
Initial, — Be, beef, beaver, beast, beech, bead, beak, biblical,
bivouac, biscuit, business, bitter, bicker, bigamy, bay, babe, bathe,
basis, baize, bait, bane, baker, beverage, bet, bedlam, bend, belt,
bury, beckon, beggar, bearing, barely, baptism, babble, bamboo,
baffle, bavin, bastion, bashful, badge, ballast, barrel, back, bag,
bank, bangle, baboon, batoon, bateau, bar, barb, barm, bars, barge,
barter, bard, barnacle, bark, bargain, berth, birch, bird, bergamot,
birgander, bubble, bomb, bump, buffalo, bust, buzz, budge, bunch,
bulge, bulk, burden, buckle, bug, bungle, bauble, bought, balk,
bob, bobbin, bombyx,
BL — Blab, black, bladder, blade, blame, blanch, blank, bland,
blaspheme, blatant, bleach, bleak, bleed, bleb, bled, blemish,
blench, blend, blight, blink, blithe, bloat, blobber, block, blood,
bloom, blossom, blotch, blote, blubber, bludgeon, bluff, blunder,
blunt, blurt, blush, bluster.
Br, — Brabble, brach, brachygraphy, bracket, brad, brag, braid,
brait, brake, brangle, bramble, branch, brave, breach, bread,
S
138 ARTICULATIONS_M.
breadth, break, bream, breast, breath, breathe, breed, breeze,
brethren, breve, brief, bribe, brick, bridge, bridle, brigand, bril-
liant, brinded, British, brittle, britzska, broach, broad, brought,
brogue, broke, broil, brooch, brood, brook, broom, broth, brother,
brown, bruise, brumal, brush, brustle, brute, bryony.
By, — Beauty, bucolic, bugle, buhl, bulimy, bureau, burine.
Bw, — Buoy, buoyant, buoyancy.
Between vowels. — Feeble, agreeable, bibber, jibber, dibble,
nibble, liberty, gibberish, fable, affable, lovable, stable, sable,
passable, table, neighbour, label, labour, cable, gable, ebbing,
pebble, treble, debit, babble, shabby, jabber, tabard, dabble,
crabbed, cabinet, gabardine, haberdasher, bubble, stubble, suburb,
shrubbery, lubber, trouble, rubber, hubbub, bauble, dauber,
glauber, hauberk, sobbing, jobber, knobby, lobby, probable,
robber, cobble, gobble, hobble, sober, noble, cobalt, puberty,
booby, ruble, tuber, dubious, nubilous, piebald, bible, libel.
Before an articulation. — Feebly, zebra, bibulous, glibly,
February, celebrity, tablet, abracadabra, babbler, fabricate,
kerb-stone, troublous, snubnose, warbler, nobly, lubricate, tubular,
fibrous, library, eyebrow.
Final. — Glebe, crib, rib, nib, astrolabe, babe, ebb, web| bleb,
stab, dab, knab, cab, barb, rhubarb, garb, verb, kerb, herb, cub,
hubbub, tub, dub, rub, grub, club, disturb, daub, bedaub, mob,
fob, sob, job, knob, rob, cob, bob, absorb, orb, globe, probe, tube,
cube, imbibe, jibe, bribe, kibe.
M
Observations.-- >This letter has the same orally obstructive formation as
P and B, but the nasal passages are uncovered, and the air, instead of ooUect-
ing within the mouth and phaiynx, flows continuously through the nostrils.
The soft palate is the valve which covers or uncovers the nares ; its action in
doing so is extremely limited, as may be seen by forming G and ng before a
glass : the sound may be intercepted and nasalized at pleasure, by a very laUght
but perceptible motion of the upper part of the velurriy while the contact of its
edges with the tongue remams undisturbed. This contact is the necessary for-
mation of G, of which ng is the nasal form. We have said that the stream of
breath cannot be directed entirely through the nostrils, unless it be obstructed
k
ARTICULATIONS-.M. 139
ill the mouth. It ifl a common mistake, however, to thuik that tlie soft palate
must, in order to open the nares, lie on the tongue for all nasal sounds. If the
breath were thus uniformly intercepted at the posterior articulating part of the
month for all the nasal elements, there oould be no difference between M, N,
and ng. The contact of the anterior organs would not influence the sound, un-
less the vocal current reached those organs. The formation of the English
Nasals requires that the oral aperture be dosed, — it matters not how, — and the
breath directed against the obstructing organs ; while the withdrawal from the
nares of that part of the soft palate which lies opposite to them, gives the breath
a passage through the nostrils ; and the articulation is not finished until the
organs which dose the oral passage are separated. If the obstructing organs
be not disjoined, the element loses its artictdative quality, and is merely a nasal
voweL Great indistinctness arises from the want of this action when m, n, and ng
are final. The French seldcmi sound the nasal articulations when final, or when
before another articulation ; they give, instead, a nasal quality to the preceding
vowel, making the voice issue partly by the mouth and portly by the nose.
There are no such sounds m English. (See French Semi-Nasal Vowels, page
36). The English nasals are all purely vocal. They are often faultily formed
in this respect : — sometimes the voice is breathy and ill-formed in the glottis;
and sometimes its sonorous quality is ii^nred by some contraction of the nos-
trils. In order to remove this great blemish, let the nasal dements be practised
by themsdves — ^beginning them with the same coup de la ghtte which was
recommended for vowd-practioe, (page 15) and continuing them with one
breath as long as possible, in two ways, — ^namely, in one unbroken effusion of
sonnd, and in a number of dear, sharp, and separate strokes of voice. When
the vocalizing of the nasals has been perfected by this cxcrdse, they should be
practised with the requisite articulative actions, and in their various combina-
tions.
The nasal elements, and also the letter L, are often called Semi-vowels, be-
cause they are perfectly sonorous, and are capable of separate and prolonged
enunciation, like vowels. The semi- vowels may each separately form a syllable ;
L and N often do so in English, as in castle^ fasten , Sfc, The letters of this
dass are also called Liquids, because they flow into other articulations, and
seem to be absorbed by them. This peculiar quality might perhaps be better
understood, were we to call it transparency ; they show through them the na-
ture of proximate articulations. When the Liquids occur before voicdess arti-
culations, they are so short as scarcely to add any appredable quantity to the
sjdlable ; wiU^ bent, brinks lamp, jrc. have thus but very little more duration
than wit, bet, bricks lap, Sfc. The liquid or transparent letters in this situation
cannot be prolonged without produdng drawling, and an un-English pronun-
ciation of the words. When tliese letters, however, come before Voice Articu-
lations, they form the longest syllables in the language, — as in willed, bend,
tongues, lambs, flm, hehn, ^c. which have as long quantity as any syllables
140 ARTICULATIONS— M.
OQntaimng the same voweb can have. The liquids before vowels have tlie
same quantity as other Yoice Articulations. They are, however, longer when
final ; and it is one of the greatest beanties of good speaking, to give them,
then, then* ^^ fiur proportion." Their fiqmd qoality should not extend to proxi-
mate words^ bnt only to letters in the same word,
M before/, v, or u?, presents a difficult combination, and one which is seldom
heard with distinctness from ordinary speakers. M is espedally awkward be-
fore/, which, behig voiceless, shortens the liquid, and renders nudity of action
neoewary. Let the following Exercise be practised, taking care that hoth lips
meet for the m, — ^that, from that position, the lower lip falls down a very
little for w ; and that, for/, the lower lip makes a quick downward and in-
ward movement to the edges of the upper teeth, while the upper lip remains
steady. At first, there will be felt a strong tendency to pout and push the lips
fix>m position to position ; but a little practice will remove tins deformity.
Aim fay, I Am fam, 1
Aim vay, > w?i*i^ e, I, o, oo. Am vam, > toith S, i, 6, ii.
Aim way, ) Am wam, J
M generally presents a serious difficnlty to the Stammerer. Yoice feeble and
fU-formed,— coUapdng chest, — adhesive lips, — motion in the nostrils, — descent
of the upper lip, — ^upward pressure of the lower jaw, — ascent of the chin, —
twisting and protrusion of the lips ;— and the very smoothness of the letter which
will not bear such rough antagonistic treatment, — all combine to render M one
of the greatest difficulties, and the Liquids generally, the greatest obstacles to
fluency, that the Stammerer meets with. The explosive letters will bear a good
deal of harshness, but these delicate articulations are impracticable amid such
violence of effort.
Careful and patient practice, with the aid of a glass, and sometimes with the
temporary assistance of durect appliances to check the convulsive actions, will,
however, surmount even these apparentiy impassable barriers to speech.
M initial combines with y^ but with no other articnlation in English. It is
written^ but rilent, before N, as in mnemonics. Mw is a common French
combination, as in mot, pronounced mw&h.
Exercises.
Initial, — Mere, mien, meal, meagre, mimic, mimetic, mytho-
logy, mystic, mistletoe, mission, mitigate, midnight, minister,
militate, miracle, maple, mane, mail, member, meditate, mend,
mellow, merry, map, mab, mammiferous, mammon, maffle, ma-
thematics, mad, mandate, malleable, maritime, mackerel, maggot,
ARTICULATIONS— M. 141
match, master, mamma, mathesis, marble, marmoset, marmalade,
marvel, marl, myrmidon, mirth, mercy, mermaid, mummery,
mmnming, muffler, mundane, mull, murmur, maudlin, maul,
m(Mrbid, morphia, morn, malkin, mop, mob, modem, monad,
molUfy, mope, moat, mode, moan, mole, move, moot, moose, mood,
moon, moor, mine, mile, migrate, my.
ify, — Mews, mewl, music, mute, mural, muleteer, muniment,
mucttlent, mucus.
Between vowels, — Aimer, dreamy, beaming, imitate, inimical,
gaming, emery, emanate, femoral, hammer, amability, amethyst,
cameirate, somerset, rummage, gummous, homage, vomit, com-
merce> momus, foamy, gnomon, roaming, coma, booming, con-
sumeri Kumic, looming, roomy, primate, climate, rhymer.
Before a breath articulation. — Lymph, nymph, lymphatic, em-
phatic, amphibrach, emphasis, camphor, comfort, comfortable,
omphacine, triumph, pamphlet, samphor ; impotent, imp. improve,
empire, emperor, employ, lamp, ample, amputate, umpire, lump,
thump ; dreamt, tempt, exempt, contempt, prompt, sumptuous ;
tamper, stamp, rump, cramp, hamper, temper, champ, whimper,
gimp, pomp, romp, pump, crumple, hump ; sempstress.
Before a voice articulation. — Imbecile, thimble, timber, nimble,
embers, embassy, November, remember, semblance, amber,
ambient, namby-pamby, bramble, scramble, tambour, ramble,
gamble, umber, humble, umbrage, stumble, tumbler, adumbrate,
ntlmber, lumber, rumble, gumboil ; triumvirate ; dimmed,
limned, rimnled, hynmed, seemed, dreamed, beamed, aimed,
blamed, maimed, tamed, famed, stemmed, contemned, con-
demned, shammed, jammed, lambed, rammed, armed, farmed,
alarmed, harmed, summed, numbed, thumbed, gummed, warmed,
formed, stormed^ roamed, combed, boomed, doomed, loomed.
M final. — Seem, dream, disme ; hynm, dim, grim ; aim, dame,
claim ; them, stem, contemn ; ham, sham, jam, am, drachm,
slam ; arm, barm, palm, calm ; firm, term ; dumb, come, thumb,
some, gum, hum ; awm, shawm, form, warm ; form, (seat) ; home,
roam, dome, comb ; boom, womb, doom, loom, room ; I'm, prime,
time, lime, rhyme, chime.
M a Syllable. — Chasm, spasm, sarcasm, schism, prism, rhythm.
142 ARTICULATIONS— Wh.
Wh.
Observations. — This element is a whispered fonn of W. In its fonnation
the lips are closely approximaied^ and then rapidly separated : the breath is
not obstmcted. Sometimes a slight degree of vocality is added to the action :
bat there must always be a dear distinction maintained between Wh and W.
If the action be confined to the lips, and the breathing be softly managed, it is bet-
ter to keep TFA— analogously to P, and the other Breath Articulations — entirely
without voice. The action is often not confined to the lips, but thrown back to
the soft palate also ; and the breath is thus modified at once into ch (German)
and toh. This is a Scottish peculiarity, heard very coarsely from Highlanders,
and with varying degrees of guttural force in all districts of Scotland. Avoiding
this ungraceful mechanism, Wh will be found to be so unexceptionable and
delicate in its articnlative effect, that even tlie €k)cknies, who, in then: incon-
sistent horror of aspirations, confound it with W, need not reject it as uncouth.
This element is not heard before o or oo. On account of the difficulty the
combination would present, the vowel is simply breathed without the articulative
action : this gives H instead of Wh before these vowels, as in wliole, whose,
&c. pronounced hole, hooze, &c.
Wh and W should be contrasted in practice till the ear and organs recognise
and execute the diff^^nce satisfisictorily. The fi>llowing will be a usefiil Exercise.
wha wa
wa wha
wa wha
wha wa
whe we
we whe
we whe
whe we
whi wi
wi whi
wi whi
whi wi
whap wap
whep wep
whip wip
whop wop
whup wup
wap whap
wep whep
wip whip
wop whop
wup whup
wap whap
wep whep
wip whip
wop whop
wup whup
whap wap
whep wep
whip wip
whop wop
whup wup
These syllables should be accentuated into words— dissyllables and quadri-
syllables — ^with the seat of the accent varied.
Exercises on Wh.
Whale, whally, whame, wharf, what, wheel, wheat, wheedle,
wheeze, whelm, whelp, when, whence, where, wherry, whet,
whether, whey, which, whiflf, whifiSe, whig, while, whilst, whim,
whimsey, whimbrel, whimper, whimwham, whin, whine, whinny,
whip, whir, whirl, whirlwind, whisk, whisper, whist, whistle, whit,
white, whither, whitlow, whizz, why.
ARTICULATIONS— W.
143
Distinguish Wh from W in the following words :—
whej whale wheel when where which whether
way wail weal wen ware witch weather
whig while whin whine whit white whither
wig wile win wine wit wight wither
W.
Obseryations. — ^This letter has been called a vowel by some orthoepists —
by others a consonant, and bj others both. When before a vowel, it is unques-
tionably an Articulation ; and when in other situations, it is either a redundant
letter, as in flo fi?, or merely an auxiliary mark to make up the writing of some
sound which has no fixed simple symbol. The combination aw^ for instance,
sounds 10 ; ew sounds 12, as in sew^ 13 as in grew ; and ow sounds 12 in
Jlow, aiid 7-13 in now. The only regular sound of W is that of the initial
articulation.
In forming W, the lips are very closely approximated, — but not closed or
projected — ^and an effort of voice made, which will produce the sound of oo^
rather closely formed to be pure ; and the articulation is finished by the smart
recoil of the lips, to ^ve egress to the succeeding vowel.
W, before <h>, is rather difficult of utterance from the little scope the organs
have for action, and the tf' is in consequence often omitted by careless speakers ;
wool h&ng pronounced ool, woman, ooman, &c. A little practice will enable
any person to articulate the combination distinctly. Sound the vowel oo —
taking care that the lips are not projected or unnecessarily contracted — and
with the thumb and forefinger sli^tly approximate the middle of the lips dur-
ing the continuance of the sound, and the word v)oo will be reiterated. This
will dearly show what the formation of W really is, and, with a little exercise,
the Hps will be able to originate the necessary action, and perform it neatly and
rapidly. Any habit of mal-formation which may have been acquired will readi-
ly be thrown off in this way.
Wr is a digraph retained in our orthography, but the w is not sounded. It
is, however, a perfectly practicable combination^ and may probably have been ar-
ticulated in the earlier ages of our language. In the Scottish dialect, both letters
are still often heard in such words as wretch, wright, &g.
Wand wh occasion many a difficulty to the Stammerer. Sometimes the seat
of t^ impediment lies in the production of voice m the w ; sometimes in the
juncdOQ of the articulation with the succeeding vowel. The Stammerer, blind to
the principle that articulations are made by disjunctive actions, jeriLS his chin
forcibly iipwards to make this element : the lips meet and grasp each other,
in struggle**-as if each strove to push the other from the face ; while the head,
eyes, and whole body partake of the effort, and undergo a paroxysm of distort-
ing convulsive actions : and it is not until the face is reddened with the strain-
144 ARTICULATIONS— F.
ing effort, and the chest almost collapsed, that the sound ungovernably rushes
out.
The means of cure of this piunful impediment must be founded on the dear
conviction that the lips cannot produce the sound—^iYidX they only modify it^
and that gently and instantaneously ; and that, consequently, any effort
thrown into them is unnatural, and must be the cause of difficulty. Let the
Stammei*^ but observe the mechanism of W from the vowel oo in the way above
described, and the hold of the impediment will be at once greatly loosened.
Guarded practice and careM application of the right principles of its articulation
will soon perfectly obviate the difficulty which this element presents.
The 7th vowel is never heard after W in English. The contracted labial
aperture for the articulation would render its combination ynih so open a vowel
harsh ; and the more congenial formation 10 is used instead. All the other
vowels occur after W ; no articulation ever follows it.
W combmes with the initial articulations, B, D, 6, T, E Th, S, as in huoy^
dwindle^ guava, twice^ qtieen, thwart, sway. Lists will be found under the
initial elements.
In the French language, W follows almost all the articulations : it is heard after
B in m, aftier F in/ots, L in loin, M in moi, N in noir, P in poid, Y in voir, &c.
Exercises.
Initial, — We, weep, weave, weevil, weasel, weed, ween, weal,
we're, weak, weird, wield, weasand, weary ; women, with, wistful,
wizard, wisdom, wish, wisp, witness, witch, widow, width, window,
winter, will, wilt, wilder, willow, wick, wicked, wicket, widgeon,
wig, wigwam, weechelm, wing, wink ; way, wafer, wave, waste,
wage, wait, wade, wain, wail, wake, wager; weapon, wept, web,
west, weft, wedge, wet, wedding, wainscot, Wednesday, well, welt,
weld, welkin, welfare, wealth, Welsh, wear, wary ; waggish, waggon,
wax, waft, wafture; worm, worth, worthy, worse, word, wonder,
won, wontj world, worldly, work ; warp, warble, warm, wars, was,
wash, wasp, wast, wart, wadding, ward, wan, warn, wall, war,
warlike, walk, watch ; wore, worn ; woe, woes, woad, wofiil, wold,
woke ; woop, w5man, womb, woo, woof, woos, woots, w56d, wooed,
wooer, w551 ; wipe, wife, wive, withe, wise, wight, wide, wine, wile,
wily, wild, wire.
Between Vowels, — Away, awake, beware, bewitch, bewilder,
reward, froward, pewet, prewam, seaward.
F.
Obsbkvatioxs. — ^F is formed by the apposition of the middle of the lowe
lip to the edges of the upper teeth, and by the rapid withdrawal of the lip by a
ARTICULATIONS— F. 145
downward and backwai'd action to finish the articolation. The breath must
not be altogether intercepted daring the organic contact. The obstruction
offered by the lip, however, gives the breath sufficient compression in the mouth
to produce a degree of explosiveness when the lip is removed. We have already
^ken of the necessity of attending careiully to the labial action, so as to avoid
redundancy or ungracefulness. An awkward formation of F and Y is so common
as to render a repetition of the caution here necessary. The lip ts frequently
rolled outwards^ so as to bring its interior surface against the front of the teeth ;
and the upper lip is twitched up towards the nostrils, to avoid collision with the
clumsy usurper from below. The mouth is sadly deformed by these ungainly
actions, and the wriggling lips look in profile like a^uple of " uneasie worms,^*
tossing and twining in agony. There is nothing in^his, or in any articulation,
nor in any combination of sounds in speech, that requires these loose, irregular,
and propulsive actions of the lips ; they are purely gratuitous, and should be
studiously avoided by every person of taste. The lips should, as nearly as
possible, retain the form of the dental ranges in all th&i actions. For F the
upper lip should have no motion ; and the under lip should merdy rise suffi-
ciently to bring its edge agsdnst the tips of the upper teeth. A too labial for-
mation of the vowels aw, o, oo, will create a difficulty in articulating F neatly
in syllables containing these vowels in combmation with it ;-7-as in awful,
wolfish, uvula, over, &c. In this case the vowel formation must first be rectified.
A little practice — ^the grand improver — ^will suffice.
, This labial mal-action, aggravated by the heaving upward pressure of the jaw,
creates a trying difficulty to the Stammerer. F, properly continuous, becomes
perfectly obstructive, and acquires all the difficulty of P, with a more awkward
position of the lips : for the lower lip frequently forces its ascent to the upper
gum, and wedges itself in between tliat and the upper lip. — ^But £rror is too various
to be traced in all its vagaries ; — and the erroneous actions of Stammering are so
eccentric as to present new features in almost every case. Let the true principles
of articulation be investigated, and brought in contrast with any error, and, if
the source of the error be not at once made apparent, the means of removing it
will, at least, be so. Stammerers have been by some advisers told to study all
the phases of their impediments, and to practise the opposite of their faulty
tendencies, as if the reverse of every wrong must needs be right : but our more
rational advice is — study, and thoroughly master the simplicity of true principles^
for if the practical acquisition of them do not effect a cure, no other means will
be successful.
F is sometimes formed by the dose approximation of both lips instead of the
lower lip and upper teeth : but the tension of the lips necessary for this formation
is as ungraoefrd as it is fettering to the general maxillary action.
A loosdy formed P sounds like F, by the breatli not bemg perfectly intercepted.
The following Exerdses will give distinctiveness to the labial actions : —
apfa, epfe, ipfi, opfo, upfoo ; — afpa, efpe, &q,
pa& pafa pafa pa& pafa, &c. ; fapa fapa fapa fapa fapa, &c. ; — with e, i, o, oo.
pafafapa, pafafapa, &c. ; fapapafa, fapapafa, &c. ;—^mth e, i, o, oo.
T
0,00.
146 ARTICULATIONS— F.
F aod Tb sound very mach alike, if their respective actions are noi firmly
and sharply performed. They are both semi-dental articulations : F is lahio-
dental, and Th Ztit^ua-dental ; — and there is a dose resemblance in the manner
of their formation, which is a continuous breathing between the apposed organ
and the teeth, followed by the qniok removal of the articulating organ, which
produces an audible percussion of breath. Contrast these articulations in the
following Exercise : —
fatha fatha fatha, &c. > -.r .
thafa thafa thafa, &c. j "'"'^ ^ ^'
fatha thafa.&tha thafa, &c. \ vi ^ • ^
tliafo fathyhafe fatha, &c. j ^^^'^ ®' ^' ^' ^•
There is a tendency to vocalize the Breath Articulations before Vocal ones,
and between vowels : thus, ph=f^ in nqihew^ Stephen^ &c. is sounded v : and
careless speakers pronounce t/likc iv in such situations. Of is always pro-
nounced with 17 instead of/, ov or uv ; but this change has perhaps been sanc-
tioned for the purpose of distinguishing the word from off,
F initial combines with Z, r, and y in English, as in fliglit^ fright^ fury.
In French it combines also with w^ as mfois, F unites witii no initial articu-
lation, except S, as in sphere.
Exercises.
Initial. — Feeble, feasible, feet, feed, fiend, field, fear; fib,
fifth, fifty, fissure, fidget, finical, fillj, filter, film, filial, fixture,
figure, fiction, fitch, finch ; fable, fame, favour, faith, face, fate,
fade, faint, feigned, fakir; February, feminine, feof^ feather,
fender, felt, ferry, fairy, ferula, fecund, fetch ; fabricate, famish,
fathom, fasces, fascinate, fEicund, faction, fagot, fang ; fast,
Justness, fasten ; farm, farce, farthing, fardel ; ferment, firm,
fervour, first, firs, fern, fir, fertile, firkin ; fuss, fuzz, fund,
fulminate, fulcrum, fulgid, ftir, ftirze, furtive, furbish, fungus;
faucet, fisiwn, fall, faldiug, false, falchion, falcon, form, forfeit,
fortune, forward, fork, fop, fob, fond, font, follow, foUj, fox ; fore,
fourpence, form, forth, force, fort, ford ; foeman, focus ; food, foot,
fool, full ; fife, five, fine, file, fire ; found, fount, fountain ; foist,
foil
Fl — Flee, fieece, fleet, fleer ; flippant, flimsy, flitch, flit,
flint, flicker, fling ; flame, flavour, flail, flake, flagrant ; flemish,
flesh, fledge, flexible ; flap, flabby, flambeau, flash, flatten, flax,
flag, flang, flank ; flask ; flaunt ; flirt, ; flummery, fluster, flush,
flutter, flood, flurry, flung; flaw, floss, flock ; floor, floral ; flow?
AE'nCULAT10N&-V. 147
flows, float, flowed, flown ; flew, flues, fluke ; flies, flight; flout,
flounce, flounder, flower.
Fr, — Freeman, frieze, frequent ; frippery, frith, fritter, friction,
frigate ; frame, phrase, frail ; fresh, fret, friend, frenzy, phrenic,
freckle ; frantic, franchise, fractious, fragment, frank ; fraternal ;
front, frustrate ; froth, frost, fraudulent, from, frontal, frontis-
piece, frolic, frock, frog ; frore ; fro, froward, froze ; fruit, frugal,
frutez, fruition ; fry, fried ; frow, frowzy, frown.
Fy, — Few, fue, fuel, fugitive, fugleman, fume, funambulist,
funeral, funicle, fury, fuse, fusee, fusion, futile, future, feud.
Between vowels, — Reefer ; whiffle, stiffen, different, diffidence,
sniffle ; Sapphic, daffodil, raffle, gaffer, chaffer ; zephyr, deference,
heifer ; wafer, safer, chafer ; puffing, buffet, muffle, suffer,
toughish, roughen ; awful, scoffer, coffin, coffer ; sofa ; truffle,
roofing ; fifer, stifle, trifle, rifle.
Before an articulation, — Caftan, abaft, waft, weft, theft, bereft,
thrift, sifter, shift, softly, doffed, puffed, rebuffed, muffed, reefed,
chafed, laughed, roofed ; skiffs, chiefs, safes, laughs, serfs, ruffs,
coughs, oafs, roofs ; fifth, twelfth ; baffling, stifling, trifler ;
roughness, toughness, stiffhecked.
F final, — Beef, thief, sheaf, leaf, chief, reef; if, stiff, whiff,
tiff, skiff; safe, chafe; feof^ deaf ; gaff; chaff, laugh, calf, half;
serf; puff, buff, muff, snuff, tough, enough, luff, rough, ciiff, huff,
chough, siirf, turf ; wharf, off, cough ; oaf, loaf; woof, roof, hoof ;
wife, knife, life, rife ; coif;
V.
Obsrrvations. — ^This artioidaticm adds to the action of F a vocal sound,
Tlie breath which flows between the lip and teeth sets tlie gk>ttal membranes in
vibration in its course for Y : with this difference of sonorous quality, F and
V are in eveiy respect the same formation. Our remarks on the articulation of
F will therefore equaUy apply to V. V is liable, however, to another kind of
mispronunciation' in the absence or but partial presence of voice. It is a
source of much beauty in speech to give dear vocality to the articulations of
this class ; — the vocal vibration must not subside until the disjunctive action
which completes the articuhitioB is made. All vocal articulations are more or
less capable of /n/^orion,—- the continuous formations especially so,— '^uid
much of the power of an expressive voice lies in the distinct vocality and
skilful inflexion of these dements. Y should be practised to develop or improve
this power with as much prolongation as possible, and with varying inflexions ;
148 ARnCULATlONS-V.
care being taken that the sound does not come out injerks^ but in an unbroken
current, and that the organs remaui perfectly steady in the articulating position,
until they are thrown apart by one effort at the end. When satisfactory vocal
power has been thus obtained, the articulative action should be practised with
natural rapidity and in its various combinations.
Londoners often pronounce w mstead of v, and, with strange perversity, i;
instead of ic. Thus we hear wessel for vessel, vater for water, werry veil for
very well ; but this, of course, is only or mainly among the uneducated.
Combinations of W and V are so difficult as in most cases to require a special
exerdse. The following wiU be effective.
vawavawavawavawa, &c. — wavawavawavawava, &c. — with e, i, o, oo.
vawava, vawava, &c. — wavawa, wavawa, &c. — with e, i, o, oo.
Pronounce each group of syllables as a word, changing the seat of accent,
vawawav^awawava, &c ^wavavawawavavawa, &c — with e, i, o, oo.
As a general exercise on the Labial Articulations, the following arrangement
of the Three Modes of action will be useful.
Read the whole Une as three words, changing the seat of accent as marked.
w4 ba va, va bd wa, ba va wd, — with e, i, o, oo.
y initial combines only with ^ as in view, Yr is a peculiar French combin-
ation as in Vraie,
Exercises.
Initial. — Veal, veer, vehement, venous, venial, vivid, vivify,
visible, viscous, vitiate, vigilant, vitriol, vidual, vineyard, vindicate,
vilify, vicar, vigour, veil, vein, vacant, vapour, vase, vagu^^vagrant,
vessel, vegetable, veterinary, vetch, vend, venerable, vellum, vel-
vet, very, vection, vapid, vamp, vascular, vaticide, vanity, van-
guard, value, vagabond, vastly, varlet, varnish, verb, verberate,
verdant, verjuice, vermin, vulgar, vulnerable, vulpine, vulture,
vault, vaunt, voluble, volume, voluntary, vomit, votary, vocal,
vogue, viper, vibrate, vine, vile, vowel, vouch, voyage, voice, void.
Between Vowels. — Beaver, weaver, liver, river, quiver, favour,
wavy, lava, knavish, laving, raven, ever, endeavour, bevel, seven,
never, leveret, heaven* eleven, cadaverous, tavern, cavern, covet,
shovel, lover, poverty, sovereign, impoverish, over, woven, oval,
rover, mover, immovable, stiver, driver, ivy.
Before an Articulation. — Halved, delved, saved, served, curved,
loved, roved, moved, rived, wives, leaves, graves, curves, coves,
knives, lovely, lively, livelong, javelin, loveknot, evening, move-
ment.
Vy. — Vielle, view, viewless.
AKTICULATIONS— Th. HO
Final. — Achieve, eve, thieve, weave, bereave, live, sieve, for-
give, save, grave, behave, wave, have, carve, salve, halve, serve,
nerve, love, curve, above, dove, wove, throve, stove, drove, grove,
five, wive, shrive, drive, rive, hive, missive, votive.
Th.
Observations. — ^This articulation is that which gives the most forward
action to the tongae, the front edge of which rests equally and liglitly on the
inner snrface of the upper teeth, while the breath escapes over the sides of the
forepart of the tongue. The breath must not be obstruct^, or a thick aud indis-
tinct T will be produced. The necessary mechanism of the kind of sound heard
in Th is simply obstruction of the breath by the tip of the tongue^ and a lateral
passage for the breath (on one side or both sides) over the fore-part of the tongue.
The tongue may lie either between the teeth, — ^upon the upper teeth, — on the
gum, or even on the rim of the palatal arch ; and Th will be produced if the
issue of the breath be in the way described.
The second of these is the proper formation, as it is that which most readily
combines with other lingual movements. The first formation, — ^namely, the
placing of the tongue between the teeth, — is a veiy common mode of untutored
articulation ; and frequently the ^^ unruly member^' is fulsomely protruded, as
if lapping the air. School-boys have a way, — often a painful one, — of ciuing
this vice, by striking the chin upwards, and making the teeth bite the obti*u-
sive member. ' Yet the number of speakers who continue thus to thrust their
tongues into unnecessary observation, shows that the biting specijic is either not
very generally adopted, or not of permanent efficacy ; and the adult organ often
rolls in luxurious ease upon the dental pillows, and stretches itself out even to
the softer lip, as if rejoicing in full-grown security from the terrors of " cliin-
whack."
Another faulty formation of Th consists in an inward movement of the lower
lip to meet the tongue. This gives so much of the character of F to the articu-
tion, that it is often difficult to know which is the letter intended. F and Th
are mechanically much alike. The action of the lip for F is precisely analogous
to that of the tongue for Th. Both organs partially obstruct the breath by
central contact with the teeth ; and the breath is in both cases emitted through
lateral interstices. The following Exercise on the actions of F and Th will be
found useful in imparting articulative energy, and m giving a distinctiveness to
these elements which is seldom possessed intuitively.
Pronounce — ^not the name, but — the articulate sound of the letters F and Th,
without an mtervening vowel. Dwell for some seconds on the F, keeping the whole
range of the upper teeth in sight, then quickly disengage the articulating lip,
and place the tongue in the position for th, resting in this position with both
ranges of teeth in siglit for a few seconds ; and then withdraw the tongue oner-
150 ARTICULATIONS— Th.
getically, and assume the position for F, as before : and so on alternately, till
the actions can be reiterated with rapidity, — f-th'f-th'f'th'f-th-f'th'f-ih^ SfC.
The vowels may tlien be placed before and after the combination ; and the two
syUables so formed should be pronounced with natural rapidity and perfect dis-
tuictness. Thus, af-tha^ ef-the, if-thi^ &c. ; and, conversely, ath-fa^ eth-fe, &c.
Til is sometimes sounded instead of s : this constitutes one form of what is
called Lisping. Combmations of th and s present an articulative difficulty which
should be mastered by careful practice. Exercises will be found under the head
ofS.
Til is not heard in French : the digraph is written, but it is pronounced t.
Frenchmen have so great a difficulty in articulating the English Th, that it is
a rare thing to find one of them so far naturalized to the English tongue as to
be capable of uttering this shibboleth. The difficulty arises only from ignorance of
the nature of the formation ; just as the Englishman's difficulty in giving the Gallic
effect to the French semi-nasal elements is the result of a want of knowledge of
the true mechanism of the sounds. A clear understanding of the formation of
the peculiar elements would make their production the work of half an honr^s
practice.
A Breath form of L is a common substitution for Th among diildren ; and
even older tongues will sometimes be found to utter the cacophony. Nothing can
be more simple than the cause of this error, and the means of its correction.
To the Stammerer Th presents another source of impediment besides those
already noticed. This lies in the action of the tongue. The heavy conjunctive
force of the articulative action, impels the tongue with unmanageable pressure
against the teeth, till it is either protruded fix>m the mouth, or rolled up behind
the lower teeth, so as to occasion a complete blockade. The mere occln^on of
the mouth would not necessarily lead to difficulty, for many of the articulations
are perfectly obstructive ; but continued pressure creates impediment. The
organs must In all cases start off from their articulating positions with rapidity
and energy. The tongue in forming Th, for instance, takes its articulative posi-
tion against the teeth, as above described ; but its articulative action, without
which ttie element is incomplete, is a smart recoil of the tongue, so as per^tly
to separate it from the teeth.
It is an important general principle of lingiial articulation, that the point of
the tongue should always be directed upwards, or at least horizontally. It
should never touch the lower teeth : — ^it should never descend into the lower jaw.
In practising its recoil from the various articulating positions to lighten a heavy
impedimental action, the movements should be carefully watched before a glass ;
and if the string of the tongue (the frsBnum) be always kept in sight, the pro-
trusive and downward habits of heavy action will soon be subdued. The mus-
cidar power of the tongue may be so greatly increased by exerdse, and brought
under the power of volition, that the Stammerer will hesitate to call it, in a
mechanical sense, an ** unruly member." We have often, in a few days dritted
into activity and precision of action, a tongue which formerly lay lumpish and inert
ill the mouth ; and, by the power of well directed exercise alone, we have so"
ARTICULATIONS— Th. 151
reduced Us apparent haik^ that whereas at first it seemed altogether dispropor-
tioned to the month, it has learned to stow itself within the ample cavity, almost
ont of sight. Yeiy rarely does the heaviest and hugest looking tongne, need mofe
than saoh a drilling to 'give it nimbleness and tapering elegance. When the for-
mation of Th is from any cause imperfect, let the following means of practice be
pursned. Place the tongue carefully in the articulating position^ and continue
it steadily there^ the breath flowing all the time, for some seconds : then quickly
withdraw it, by one action as far hack and down in the mouth as possible, keeping
its under mrfojce in sight. The finger maybe placed at the angle of the neck
and chin, and the descent of the tongue will be distinctly /e/^, when it is effec-
tively managed. In this way let the syllables
12 8 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 18 13
eeih^ Wij aith, eth, ath^ ath, arth, earth, urth, (awrth, ourth, otk, ooth,
(dth,
and words ending with th be practised. Then th before vowels : the tongue
resting steadily for an instant against the teeth, and the succeeding vowel being
enounced with explosive fudness. Lastly, Th before w;, r, and y, should receive
a special exercise, in the same way, — the tongue retreating with rapidity and a
forcible propulsion of the breath, after resting for an instant in the articulating
poation. In a short time, — short in proportion to the energy and amount of
practice, — ^this articulation will be perfectly mastered ; and not only it, but lingiuxl
power will be so developed, that all the elements produced by the agency of the
tongue win be greatly improved.
Thj though a double character, is a simple articulation, and shotdd be re-
presented by a single letter in the alphabet. H, the sign of aspiration, is added
to P, to represent a continuous formation by the \\p^ viz. F : it is added to T and
S, to represent continuous formations by the tongue, viz. Th and Sh : and in some
languages, we find other combinations with h^ In GaeHc, for instance^ Bh and
Mh sound y ; but the latter has this peculiarity^ that it gives a nasal efiect to the
adjoining vowel.
The vowels exhibit a tendency to prolongation when before this element ; for
the articulation being continuous, and its seat far advanced in the mouth, the
vowds cannot be so readily stopped by it as by obstructive and posterior for-
mations.
Th initial unites in English with w, r, and ^, as in thwart, throne, thurible.
It blends with no initial articulation. It is often found in combinations where
its proper articulation requires some littie art ; as in heaths, health/id, eighths,
ninihs, sixthly, twelfths, depths, widths, lengthwise, &c
Exercises on Th.
Initial, — Thank, tliarm, thatch, thaumatrope, thaw, theatre,
theism, theme, theocracy, theory, theriac, thermal, thesis, theurgy,
thick, thief, thieve, thigh, thimble, thill, thin, thing, think,
third, thirst, thirteen, thirty, thistle, thong, thorax, thorn, thought,
thousand, thumb, thump, thunder, Thursday, thyroid, thyrse.
152 ARTICULATIONS— Th.
rAtt?.— Thwack, thwart, thwitteD, thwaite, thwittle.
Tkr. — Thrall, thrash, thrasonical, thread, threat, three,
ttreshold, threw, thrice, thrive, thrift, thrill, through, throat,
throb, throe, throre, throng, throttle, throstle, throw, thnxm,
thmsh, thmst.
Thy. — Thew, thurable, thnriferons, thnrification, enthusiasm.
Between Votoels, — Ether, pithy, mythology, cithern, lithograph,
lithic, lithophyte, bathos, pathos, mathematics, lathy, mothy,
frothy, nothing, toothache, ethics, atheist, catholic, dithyramb,
method, plethora, apothecary, spathic, rhythm, logarithm, lethal,
lethargy.
Before an artiadation. — Ethnic, ethmoid, ethnology, athletic,
athwart, deathful, deathwatch, deathlike, earthly, earthquake,
earthworm, &ithfiil, scathless, pathless, pathway, plethrom,
truthful, ruthless, sheath-winged, slothful, worthless, months,
girths, moths, (truths, cloths.*)
Final, — Sheath, teeth, wreath, heath ; pith, plinth, frith, sith,
£Eiith ; saith, death, health, wealth, stealth ; hath ; path, bath,
lath ; birth, mirth* earth, dearth, girth ; doth, worth ; broth,
cloth, moth, froth, wrath ; oath, both, loth ; sooth, tooth, truth,
ruth ; mouth, south.
Th, (tocal.)
Observations. — ^This is the same articnlalion as the preceding, but with
the addition of yocality daring its formation. There is no distinction made
in our Orthography of these elements, bat the difierence between their soands
is the same as between F and Y, P and B, &c. Thus not only is our alphabet
deficient of simple characters to represent this and the preceding element, bat
we oonfoand the two, by using for both the same digraph. To be consistent
we should write this sound 2>A.
Our remarks on the formation of Th (breath), and on the difficulties and
peculiarities of its articulation, equally apply to this vocal Th ; and the same
sort of praxis recommended for the former will, with voice added, be found
effective for the correction of faults in the latter. In prolonging this element,
the voice should be heard, not in abrupt jets, but in one unbroken ^ow: from
the mterstitial nature of the apertures through which the breath paaaes, a
degree of hissing will at the same time be produced. The retraction of the
* These two words are often pronounced with th vocal^^clothz, truthz.
ARTICULATIONS—S. 163
tongue which Buishes the artioulatioii should not be followed by any effort of
voice, — the sound must cease at the instant of lingual separation. This is a
general principle of articulation ; for, if a vocal sound escape after the articulating
organs are disjoined, it must evidently be a vowel; and such an addition, — by
no means uncommon, — gives a drawling, ^* hunmiing and liawing " effect to
speech, which fidgets the listener into impatience.
Custom has vocalized the th in the plural of a few words which have its
breath-form in the singular : as in path — pat^, oath — oAths^ mouth — montha^
bath — baMs, lath — la/As. The reason of this change does not seem veiy ob-
vious ; for it is just as easy to pronounce ths in these cases as thz. A similar
change, however, takes place in F, which is vocalized from calf to calt7es, loaf
to loaves, &c. We have explained the analogy between the mechanisms of F
and Th, (page 145,) which may account for these elements being thus cor-
respondently influenced.
Exercises.
Initial, — Than, that, those, the, thee, their, them, then,
thence, there, these, thej, thine, this, thither, though, thou,
thus, thy, thjine.
Between voiveU. — Wither, whither, thither, hither, heathen,
either, teething, bathing, tether, nether, leather, heather, lather,
fiitthom, gather, rather, father, mother, t'other, other, fother,
bother, southern, clothing, loatheth, soothing, mouthing, writhing.
Before an articulation, — Litheness, lithesome, blithely, blithe-
ness, blithesome, loathsome, clothes, wreaths, lathes, baths,
booths, mouths, paths, oaths, sheathed, loathed, bathed, writhed,
mouthed, swathed, smoothed.
Final, — Seethe, sheath, teeth, (v.) neath, beneath, wreathe,
with ; bathe, lathe, spathe, swathe ; loathe, clothe ; booth, soothe,
smooth ; withe, scythe, tithe, writhe, lithe ; mouth, (v.)
S.
Observations. — The peculiar mechanism requisite to produce the clear
hissing sound heard in this letter, is a single and very contracted aperture for
the emission of the breath over the centre of the fore-part (not the tip) of the
tongue^ when, without much elevation from the bed of the lower jaw, it is
dosdiy i^proximated to the upper gum. The tongue is otherwise in contact
with the teeth and gum, so as to obstruct the breath at all parts but the point,
which is sufficiently squared to prevent its touching the front teeth. The
^lightest projection of the tip brings it against tl)« teeth, and, by partially
U
1&& ARTICULATIONS-^.
interccptiog the breath at that point, modifies the soand into that o€ th; and
the least retraction of the tongue fi:om the predse point of the trne formatioa,
causes the middle of the tongne to ascend towards the ardi of the palate, and
modifies the current of breath mto the sound of sh. No element of speedi is ao
often and so variously faulty as S, and yet there is rarely much tnynble
required to correct its irregularities. Among the most common imperfections
of this sound, we may note four leading varieties^ which are sometinieB foond
as mailed and separate blemishes, and often in some degree of oomlMimtioo,
which renders the precise nature of the peculiarity less evident, at the same
time that the existence of a defect is manifest and unquestionable.
The first fault of S which we would notice, is that caused by the contact of
the tip of the tongne with the teethy or its projection between the teeth. This
produces the sound of Th. Some people reckon this a fascinating charni^ —
especially in maiden mouths, — a mark of gnfleless innocence and simi^oty ;
because, forsooth, the ^Uhame thweet thort ofthound" is often heard in the
innocent prattle of childhood. There can be but one opinion as to its pnerifity ;
it must therefore be an unbecoming habit in those who have outgrown die
years of childishness.
Another form of defect arises fix>m the^a^ expansion of the tongue over ike
lower teeth. Tins is a lazy -looking and peculiarly unprepossesang fiudt. It
is too much allied to the aspect of imbecility to be tolerable fix>m anj other
cause.
In a third form, the point of the tongue is depressed behind ike lower teeih^
and the breath hisses between the elevated middle of the tongue and the palate.
In this case, the teeth are too much apart to allow of suffident sharpness in the
sound ; and the lower lip is therefore firequently employed to direct the stream
into a narrower channel, by rising upwards, or folding itself inwards, to
meet the upper teeth. By these means a very dose resemblance to the sound
of S is produced ; and if we could not see its mechanism, we might often be
inclined to pass it without notice, but it is so conspicuously deforming to the
mouth that we are glad to turn our eyes from the speaker^s face. These
defects are commonly called, indiscriminatdy, by the general name. Lisping.
Another cacophonic substitution for S is a hissing over the sides of the hack
. of the tongue^ something like, but with less free apertures than, the breath form
of L, which is heard in Welsh, represented in that language by li. This is a
duttering disagreeable sound ; and it is generally accompanied bj other fiiolts
of lingual action. The inarticulate confusion of speech which results, is com-
monly called " thickness.^''
With reference to the method of correcting these and other imperfections, we
would be less careful to mark out the exact cause of the defect, than to Slnstrate
and clearly point out the true mechanism of the sound which is defective ; and,
by varied experiments, and exercises on analogous and kindred formations^
to induce the organs to &I1 into the unaccustomed position, perhaps uncon-
sciously and unexpectedly at first on the part of the pupQ. In this waj, the
aseodation between the letter and the malformation will gradually be broken,
ARTICULA.TIONS— S. 155
and the new form of articulation may in a veiy short time be fixed into
a habit.
The analogy between the articulative actions of R and S is generally of
much service in leading the tongue to the position for the latter element. A
whispered R may be modified into S, by bringing the teeth as close as posable
without actual contact, and depressing the tip of the tongue to a horizontal
position, during the flow of the breath. Sometimes mechanical assistance
facilitates the acquisition of the S : a paper cutter held between the teeth
furnishes a convenient ledge on which the point of the tongue may lie until it
acquires the power of moulding itself to the required shape.
We have hitherto described only the articulating position of S, — but the
element is not finished without the retraction of the tongue firom that position.
The forcible practice of this part of the articulation will greatly tend to give
ease and rapidity in executing the S, and in mana^ng the tongue in the
various evolutions of general speech. Let the S, when the sound is tolerably
correct, be prolonged to the limit of expiration, and by this exercise its
sharpness will be increased, and any wasteful issue of breath checked. Each
prolonged hiss should have the articulative Jinish, by abruptly drawing in the
tongue. The breath compressed within the mouth will then be emitted
explosively; but it must be altogether voiceless.
Another highly improving exercise consists in stopping the hissing sound of
S, by repeated. appulses of the tongue against the palate — producing the com-
bination St-St-St, &c. The action of the tongue from S to T should be back-
wards and upwards: — a common heaviness of speech arises from striking the
tongaQ forward to the gum or teeth, or from simply pressing it upwai'd, without
a change of position. In the combmation st (and sts, which the quick reite-
ration of St produces also) there are few persons who exhibit distinctness and
lightness of articulation. A little practice of the lingual exercises prescribed in
our pages will give facility to all who desire that their speech shall be something
more than a *^ mere brute instinct, by which,^* as Dr Rush remarks, '^ some
persons only bleat, bark, bray, whinny, and mew, — a little better than others."
Some difficulty may be found at first in managing these alternations of s and
t, from the little space within which the tongue has to make so decided an
action. The student will be inclined to a most destructive waste of breath in
the effort to give T its articulative finish ; but let liim patiently persevere,
uttering as long a series as he can, with each expiration, and he will insensibly,
yet steadily, improve.
St is common in English, both as a fnal and as an initial combination.
Such awkward dustera of consonants as in the following words are. thei'efore,
of fi:eqttent occurrence i—fts and starts, tastes and distastes, states, statists,
statistics.
To enable him to enounce these clearly, and without any harsh intcnniption
of continuity, the student should practise the following Table : —
Est-ste, ist-stist, ast-sta, est<stest, ast-stast, ust-stust, ost-stost, ost-sto,
oost-stoo.
166 ARTICULATIONS— S.
Similar combinations of S with P and K are likewise very common ; bat they
do not present so great a difficulty as the preceding, because the obstructive
element is produced by the action of a di£ferent part of the mouth from that
which forms the S.
The following also should be practised until fluency is obtained : —
Ast, est, ist, ost, ust ; asp, esp, isp, oep, usp ; ask, esk, isk, osk, nsk.
Note, — ^In this exercise the explosive finish of the T, P, and E must not be
allowed to coalesce with the next vowel. In the most rapid iteration, the
syllables must be ast^ ast, asty &c. and not astastcut, &c.
Esp-spe, isp-spisp, asp-spa, esp-spesp, asp-spasp, usp-spusp, osp-sposp,
osp-spo, oosp-spoo.
Esk-ske, isk-skisk, ask-ska, esk-skesk, ask-skask, usk-skusk, osk-skosk,
osk-sko, oofik-skoo.
S and Th present an articulative difficulty when they meet without an inter-
vening vowel. The action of the tongue from one to the other is exceedingly
limited — but it must be firm and decided, to render the combination distinct.
The change firom the position of S to that of Th, consbts in tapering and ad-
vancing the tip of the tongue. The whole tongue must not be pushed con-
tinuously forward^ but the mere tip should just touch the teeth — as high as
possible — by a rapid and distinct motion ; the change from the one position to
the other being accompanied by the audible^ articulative finish of the first
element. Let the student endeavour to produce a long series of these articula-
tions — thus: s-th-s-th-8-th-s-th-s-th-s-th-s-th, 8fc,
Then let him prefix and subjoin a vowel to the combinations — ^thus :
ace tha, ece the, ice thi, oce tho, 60s tboo,
aith sa, eeth see, ithe si, oath sd, ooth soo,
&s th&s, Ss th^s, 18 this, 58 thSs, Xi& thiis,
&th 8&th, Sth sSth, ith 81th, 5th sSth, Hth stith.
When these have been sufficientiy practised, the following arrangement of
syllables containing S and Th alternately initial, should be mastered. The
perplexing difficulty they present, renders them well worthy of the student's
care : for in overcoming this difficulty a great degree of organic power is
gained, which must produce a beneficial effect upon articulation generally.
Pronounce the combinations as words, with varying accents; and repeat
each of them several times with the same expiration.
tha sa, tha sa tha, tha sa sa tha, \ va - r - -
saUia, satiiasa, sa tha tiia sa, J "'»^'*e^oo^-
When S final comes before S initial, as in ^^ The Alp.<; ^blime,'' the neat
articulation of the double consonant requires a little art. Practise the following.
ace say, ece see, ice sigh, oce so, 00s soo,
ass sass, ess cess, iss sis, oss soss, us sus.
The difficulty of doubling articulative actions without awkward hiatus has
led many Elocutionists to advise the omission of one in such combinations.
Whoever could rest satisfied with saying " the Ethiopian's ^*tV« and the leopard's
ARTICU LA XIONS— S. 1 67
pots^^^ when he meant ** the Ethiopian's skin and the leopard's spots^^^ may
follow the tasteless counsel ; but we trust all others will rather spend an hour
or two in drilling their organs into the necessary lightness of action, or else-
be distinct, even at the expense of hiatus.
S is an extremely difficult articulation to Stammerers. In general, they have
no difficulty in producing the hisdng sound ; they can take the articulative
position^ but they cannot add to that the necessary action which must finish
the element. The hissing is thus continued till the lungs are almost exhausted ;
— and the Stanunerer cannot stop the destructive waste. The fault here lies
mainly with the glottis, which, in a non-vibrating position for the S, will not
take the vocalizing posture for the succeeding vowel with sufficient readiness ;
and the chest aggravates the impediment which this occasions, by bearing down
heavily upon the lungs, while probably the ungovernable jaw adds its share
also to the difficulty. General practice on the actions of the various organs
implicated in the stammer, is the only sure ground of cure. When the power
of government ovQr these has been in some degree acquired, exercises on the
difficult articulation will be of much service ; but until the chest and glottis —
or, as we may call them^ the producing organs^ are brought under voluntary
control, it will be of little use to practise the merely modifying actions of arti-
culation. Partial and temporary relief may be obtained by simple articulative
practice, but to give a rational ground of hope for permanent benefit, the exer-
dses qmst begin with the deeper and more occult principles of respiratory and
vocal government.
The Stammerer should practise the prolonged S, as before described, till he
can form the sound with a very economical expenditure of breath. He should
then give out a long series of very short articulated hisses— drawing the
tongue smartly and completely back in the mouth, to finish each of them.
Then let him stop the S by the various articulative actions which combine with
it, adding the vowels to them for a subsequent exercise. By patient practice,
difficulty afler difficulty in execution will graduaUy give way, and he will be
able to enounce this element with easy fluency.
The English language has been called the ^^ hissing tongue,'* as if it, much
more than its neighbour languages, abounded with this serpent sound. The
removal of S from some of our combinations might certainly add to the euphony
of our speech ; but a comparison either of its letters or its sounds with those
of the French, Italian, and Spanish languages, will show that the English is far
from having the unenvied distinction. We have taken the trouble to compare
some passages of equal length in these four languages, to ascertaia the number,
of the hissing elements S and Z, actually pronounced in them, and the following,
b the result. In a French, Spanish, and English translation of the same
passage— there were found to be in the French, 60 ) of these sibi-
" " English, 66 > lants actually
" " Spanish, 110 ) sounded.
In the French paragrapli there were 93 sibilant letters, while in the
English one there were only 77.
158 ARTICULATIONS— S.
Still further to test this, we took a passage in Italian, containing the same
number of words as in the Spanish portion, and found, even in this smooth
euphonic tongue, a preponderance of 5 of these sibilants over the number con-
tained in our decried English : which is thus proved to be " more hissed at
than hissing I"
S initial combmes with P, T, K, F, M, N, L, W, T, as in sport, store, scope,
sketch, square, sphere, smile, snow, slow, swear, sue. It enters into combi-
nation with no initial articulation in English utterance. In such words as
psalm, psychology, Sfc. ihepia therefore silent.
Exercises.
Initial — Sea, sebacious, seethe, seize, cease, seat, seed, scene,
seal, sear, seek* sipi sibilant, symbol, symmetry, sift, sieve,
sister, scissors, scission, sit, sinew, scintillate, since» silly, silk, sickle,
signify, sink, single, say, sapient, sable, same, safe, saviour, sage,
sane, sail, saleable, sake, sago saint, salient, separate, semblance,
seminary, cemetery, cephalalgy, seven, saith, sessile, says, session,
sedge, settle, saidf send, sentence) sense, sensual, celery, serry,
serrated, second, segregate, sect, segment, sash, sarcasm, sardonyx,
sarse, salve, saunter, sir, serpent, sermon, serf, servant, sirst search,
serge, circle, circuit, certaini sup^ suburbs subtile> somet suffer,
southern, sustenance, subtle, suttler, sudden, sun, sully, surd, surge,
surly, surrogate, surf, surcle, suck, suggest, saw, sauce, saws, salt,
solder, sawed, sawn, sop, sob, somnolent, soft, sot, sod, sonnet, sole-
cism, sorrel, sorrow, soften, sorcery, sore, sword, source, sores, sow,
soap, sober, sofa, sown, soul, soldier, sojourn, soho, soup, soothe,
soot, soon, sigh, cipher, scythe, size, sight, side, sign, silent,
sire, sow, south, souse> sowst sound, soun soy, soiL samphire* saf&on,
sapphire, savage* sassafras, saginate, Saturday, saddle, sanative,
salad, salique, saraband, sacrament, sagamore, sagathy, satchel.
Sp. — Speak, speech, speed, spear, spit, spin, spill, spirit, spathe,
space, spade, spake, sped, spend, spell, spelt, speck, spasm, spatter,
span, sparrow, sparse, spark, sperm, spirt, disperse, sputter, sponge,
spurs, spurge, spurn, spawn, sport, spoke, spoon, spy, spice, spite,
spied, spine, spire, spike, spouse, spout, spoil.
Spr, — Sprain, sprat, sprawl, spray, spread, sprig, spright,
spring, sprinkle, sprit, sprout, spruce, sprung, express, disprove.
Spl. — Splash, splay, spleen, splenetic, splendent, splice, splint,
splutter, displease, explain.
ARTICULATIONS—S. 169
Spy, — spume, spurious, spumescence, dispute.
8m, — Smear, smith, smelly smatter, smash, smart, smirk,
smirch, smuggle, smother, small, smalt, smoke, smote, smoulder^
smooth, smile, smite.
8w. — Suasiye^ assuage, suavity, swab, swaddle^ swag, swagger,
swain, swallow, swamp, swan, swap, sward, swarm, swart, swarth,
swash, swath, swathe, sway, swear, sweat, sweet, sweep, swell,
swept, swerve, swift, swig, swill, swim, swindle, swine, swing,
swinge, swiss, switch, swivel, swoon, swoop, swore, swung, dissuade,
desuetude, persuasion.
8f, — Sphere, sphinx, sphacelus, sphagnum, spheric, sphincter.
8t, — Steep, steam^ steed, steel, steer^ stipulate, stimulate, stiff,
stitch, still, «tick, stickle, sting, stays, stage, state, staid,
stain, stale, steak, step, stem, steady, stellar, stab, static, stadt-
holder, stand, stanza, stallion, stack, stagger, stang, staff, statis-
tic, stalactite, starve, stars, starch, start, stark, stir, stem, sterling,
stubborn, stumble, stuff, stud, stutter, stun, stunt, stuck, stung,
stop, stock, storm, stork, stalk, stall, store, story, stored, stow,
stowed, stole, stone, stoker, stoop, stood, stool, sty, stipend, stifle,
stiver, style, stout, stound.
Sir, — Strabism, straggle, straddle, straight, strain, strand^
strange, strangle, strap, strategy, strath, stratum, straw, stray,
streak, stream, street, strength, strenuous, stress, stretch, strew,
striae, stricken, strict, stride, stridulous, strike, struck, string,
strung, strip, stripe, strobil, strokal, stroll, strong, strontian, strop,
strophe, strove, structure, struggle, struma, strut, strychnia.
/(^^^....Studious, stupe, stupor, stupid, stew, steward, astute.
8y, — Sue, subah, sudatory, suet, suicide, suit, suitable, sumach,
superable, superb, supine, supreme, sural, sutile, suture, superior,
assume, consume, disuse, pursuit.
8n, — Sneeze, sneak, snip, snack, snaffle, snag> snail, snake,
snap, snare, snarl, snatch, sneer, sniff, snipe, snivel, snore, snout,
snow, snub, snuff, snudge, snug.
81, — Slab, slam, slack, slag, slain, slake, slander, slang, slant,
slap, slash, slate, slattern, slaughter, slave, slaver, Slavonic, slag,
sleeve, sleezy, sled, sledge, sleek, sleep, sleet, slept, sleight, slender,
slice, slide, slight, slily, slime, sling, slung, slink, slip, slit, sliver,
Bloat, sloe, sloop, slop, slope, slothi slouch, slough, (uf) slough,(7-l 3)
160 ARTICULATIONS— S.
Sk, — Scale, scab, skate, scheme, sky, scope, Scotch, score,
scoop, scuffle, sculk, scuUerj, sculpture, scum, scupper, scurf,
scurvy, scurrile, scut, scuttle.
Ski, — Sclavonian, Sclavonic, sclerotic.
8kr, — Scrabble, scrag, scramble, scrap^ scrape^ scratch,
scrawL scream, screech, screen, screw, scribble, scribe, scripture,
scrivener, scrip, scrofula, scroll, scrub, scruple, scrutable, scruze,
scrutoire.
Sky, — Skew, skewer, scutellated^ excuse.
Skw, — Squab, squabble, squadron, squalid, squalor, squall,
squamous, squander, squarot squash, squat, squaw, squeak,
squeal, squeamish, squeeze, squelch, squib, squill, squinancy,
squint, squire, squirrel, squirt.
Before a vowel, — (Esophagus, unceasing, thesis, missile, viscid,
whistle, thistle, scissile, dissonant, listen, glisten, gristle, basin,
mason, phasis> tacit, casing, pestle, message, vessel, sesame,
sessile, jessamine, tessellate, desultory, necessary, lesson, wrestle,
crescent, progressive, essence, essay, assident, assassin, acid,
acetate, passable, massive, fascinate, vacillate, tacit, lassitude,
veracity, cassowary, crassitude, glacis, (ece) glacier, glassy
.grassy, fSacile, bustle, throstle, faucet, saucer, possible, mossy,
fossil, wassail, jostle, docile, tossing, Cossack, crossing, glos-
sary, closer, grocer, looser, excuses, (s.) producer, juicy, pussy,
mucilage, spicy, vices, enticing, dicer, crisis, sousing, rejoic-
ings.
Before an ariAculation, — East, easterly, beast, feasts, yeast,
ceased, least, creased, priest ; pristine, blister, mist, fist, vista,
wist, whist, sister, systole, gist, distaff, list, wist, kissed. Christian,
grist, glister, hist ; paste, baste, waist, taster, laced, cased, graced,
hasty, chaste, pester, west, fester, vestry, westerly, zest, jesting,
attest, destitute, nest, lest, dressed, rest, wrested, yesterday, crest,
behest, chest ; past, repast, pasture, pastime, bastard, mastiff, fast,
vastness, last, lastly, caste, classed ; pustule, busts, mustard, fusty,
justice, dost, lust, rust, custom, gust, crust, cluster, pursed, burst,
worst, durst, nursed, cursed ; posture, foster, wast, tossed, lost, cross-
ed, costs, glossed, accost, hostage ; post, boast, most, toast, roast,
coast, engrossed, ghost, host ; spliced, iced, enticed ; moisture, foist,
hoist ; lisp, wisps, crisp, clasps, rasp, gasp, grasp^ hasp, asps, waspi,
ARTICULATIONS— Z. 161
whisper, vesper, despicable, respite, aspect, jasper, grasping,
prosper, auspicate, hospital, hospitable : episcopal, biscuit, fiscal,
viscous, whisker, disc, frisk, risk, fescue, desks, grotesque, bur-
lesque, rescue, ask, bask, masks, flasks, tasks, casks, rascal, busk,
buskin, musk, musket, tusks, dusk, dusky, rusks, husky, bosky,
Moscow, sixth sixths.
S final, — Piece, cease, lease, crease, grease, miss, thesis, bodice,
analysis, kiss, hiss, pace, bass, mace, face, lace, race, case, chase,
purchase, mess, chess, less, graceless, linkless, gas, mass, lass,
pass, parse, farce, carse, amerse, erse, verse, terse, hearse, us,
fuss, courageous, righteous, purse, disburse, worse, nurse, curse,
sauce, morse, gorse, horse, boss, moss, foss, toss, loss, cross, gloss,
force, source, course, coarse, hoarse, gross, close, (a.) noose, loose,
moose, abuse, (s.) diffuse, (a.) puss, spruce, juice, goose, mice,
vice, thrice, entice, paradise, dice, nice, rice, mouse, souse, grouse,
house, voice, rejoice, choice.
Z.
Observations. — ^This element unites a vocal sonnd with the his^ng of S.
Its articnlatiYe position and action are in every respect the same as those of S.
It is consequently liable to the same kind of defects, in lisping, &c ; and the
exercises prescribed for S, will, with voice added, be equally effective in
perfecting Z. Thus,
thaza ; tha za tha ; tha za za tha \ vi ^ •
zatha; za tha za; za tha tha za ]" ^^^'^ ®' '♦ ^' ^^•
In the following arrangements V is added for the sake of contrast with Th,
(see page 146.)
za va tha tha za va va tha za > .., « ; o oo
za tha va tha va za va za tha ) ) f > •
Z is not so difficult to the Stammerer as S ; for if he can produce the vocal
sound in the articulation, he can have no difficulty, except what is merely
articulative, in connecting it with a following vowel. But often the voice pro-
duced in Z is a mere murmur^ — a momentary, feeble, breathy sound, which is
as ineffectual as none. In this case all the difficulty of S will be experienced.
To overcome this impediment, glottal power must first be acquired m the
formation of clear ringing vocality, and the chest exercised to restrain any
undue pressure in expiration. The buzzmg sound of Z may be produced in a
long continuous current, and finished by the quick retraction of the tongue,
before described. Naturally abrupt articulations of the same element should
X
162 ARTICULATIONS—Z.
then be practifledf separately, and with vowels sabjoiDed; the teeth opening
freely after the articaladve action, that the sucoeeding vowel may be enutted in
a full energetic volume.
Z initial combines only with Y ; and but in the few words given in our list.
It joins with no initial articulation.
Exercises.
Initial, — Zaccho, zaffire, zany, zarnich, zea, zeine, zeal, zealous,
zebra, zebu, zedoary, Zend, zenith, zeolite, zephyr, zero, zest, zig-
zag, zimome, zinc, zircon, zocle, zodaic, zone, zoography, zoology,
zoophyte, zufolo, zymology, zygomatic, zygodactylous,
Zif, — zumic, zumate, zumology, zeugma.
Between vowels. — Besom^ easy, wheezing, weasel, reason, busy,
busily, mistletoe, physiognomy, visit, wizard, dizzy, risen, gizzard,
grizzle, mazy, daisy, nasal, laziness, razor, brazen, crasy, gazer,
grazing^ glazer, hazy, Jezebel, desert, resignation, resin> hesitate,
azimuth, azote, basilisk, mazard, gaseous, hazardous, puzzle,
dozen, nuzzle, muzzle, cousin, halser, pausing, causative, gauzy,
positive, nozzle, lozenge, rosin, closet, posy, frozen, disposer,
dozing, rosiness, closing, glozer, hosanna, oozing, losel, cruiser,
choosing, despiser, miser, wiseacre, supervisor, sizar, rising, spousal,
drowsy, mouser, rousing, housing, noisy, noisome, schism, spasm.
Before an articulation, — Spasmodic, jasmine, phantasmagoria,
pismire, bismuth, dismal, prismatic, chrismal, cosmetic, cosmical,
husband, wisdom, prismoid, osraazome* Osnaburg, grisly, guzzler,
fizgig, vizier, Jesuit.
i^tnaZ.*— Ease, breeze, freeze, wheeze, these, seize, tease, sneeze,
please, keys, agrees, grease, (v.) cheese, is, phiz, worthies, 'tis,
ladies, carries, quiz, orgies, his, pays, baize, maize, fays, vase,
ways, chaise, craze, glaze, haze ; says, bars, mars, jars, tars, cars,
iiirs, firs, hers, buzz, furze, slurs, curs, pause, flaws, thaws> saws,
jaws, laws, clause, gauze, oars, pores, boars, fours, sores, stores,
shores, doors, roars, cores, owes, poze, beaus, mows, foes, woes,
those, sews, toes, doze, nose, rose, close, (v.) goes, gloze, grows,
hose, chose, pews, imbues, mews, views, thews, sues, shoes, Jews,
contuse* dues, news, lose^ ruse, cooes, glues, hues, choose, eyes,
pies, buys, surmise, suffice, vies, wise, thighs, sighs, ties, dies, lies,
rise, cries, guise, vows, sows, allows, rows, cows, poise, boys, joys,
toys, noise, alloys, destroys, cloys.
ARTICULATIONS--R. 163
R.
Observatioks. — ^This element is produced when the breath is directed over
the aptumed tip of the tongue, so as to cause some degree of lingual vibration.
In order to effect this, the breath must be perfectly obstructed at all other points^
that the whole force of the stream maj be concentrated on the tip ; and the
tongue must be held loosely, to enable it to vibrate readily. The vibration may
be produced in every degree from the soft tremor of the English R, which merely
vibrates the edge of the tongue, to the harsh rolling of the Spanish Rr, which
shakes the whole organ. The trilled or strongly vibrated R is never used in
English ; but there are various degrees of vibration which characterize the Eng-
lish R in different situations.
Between vowels, as in merit^t the R is strongest, but it has only a momentary
tremor ; for articulations between vowels are always short in Englisfau R is
never, like n or Z, prolonged when two articulations meet in a compound word ;
as in meanness^ foully^ ^c, ; the reason is, that R final is differently formed &om
R initial. Both letters have their regular formation in this position ; as In
7-1-8 19 1-8 ft
m»re-wroiLght^ rear-rank, &c.
R initial has an articulative vibration ; but it is merely of the edge of the
tongue, just enough to constitute the sound an articulation.
When the tongue is so placed as just to feel the passing stream of air not
yield to it^ we have the condition of the ^naZ R. The aperture for the amission
of the voiee is so free, that the vowel qnahty of the sound is scarcely, — if at all,
— affected. When the succeeding word, however, begins with a vowel, ike
final r has generally the eSeet of medial r, to avoid hiatus.
Exercises on Filial E (the Sth vowel) will be found aipage 107.
No letter is mor€ fi%quently faulty than this. The extremes of error sate to
throw the articulation back to ike uvvla^ or icxrward to the Ups ; but these ave
found in all degrees of modificatioa and oomhinatioa. The sovad of the iEbrmer
R, when roughly executed, as we often bear it, is like the siuurliiig ofii cur:-**-
the latter formation fffoduces the «ffect of W, with geaeraily an additioDal gut-
tund modification.
The uvular vi6ra/ian constitutes what is called ^ttrrtii^—- 4 faidt ikEooBtwur
veraal in some of the northern divisions of Ea^iid. Ask a person wko burre
to open his mouth, and you mil see the little uvula dancang and leaping ia tke
channd of the tongue. To cure this &ult, the first oaro must be 40 keep this
restless little organ out of the way. There would be but little diffienlty in get-
ting sufficient vibration of the point of ihe tongue fixun a ifew vmj simple exer-
cises ; but we should still have the ^tt^uraZefieot i^naaining. The Bnrrer leiiould
tlierefore exercise hhnself m separadng the uvula and soft palate from the tongve
as for as pos^ble. After a little praotioe, he will generally foe able ib do Ik&s
so effectually, that the uvula will shrink to a point, and the soft palate will form
164 ARTICULATIONS— R.
bat one ardi instead of two.* When he can retain the organs in this podtioo
at win, let him oommenoe his practice to acquiie the new articolatioDy by very
slowly raising the point of the tongue during the prolonged utterance of the open
▼owds ah and air, tiQ it comes npon the palate obstructively, and so forms the
letter D. If the under jaw be kept down, it wiD be almost impossible to do
this without sounding an R during the progress of the tongue to the palate.
Then endeavour to stop the tongue at various intermediate devations, continu-
ing the vcMoe at each, and keeping the teeth and lips perfectly motionless. When
some power of action in the tongue has been thus acquired, strike it upwards
quickly and repeatedly during the flow of voice ; and, probably, a very Uderable
R win be at once produced. Further improvement wiU then be gained by thefol-
lowing exercise. Sound Z with the thickness of an ivory paper-cutter betweoi
the teeth ; and, during the continuance of the sound, graduany open the teeth
tin they admit the breadth of the paper-cutter between them. The effort to oon-
tinne something like the buzadng sound of Z, while the teeth come apart, win
draw the pc»nt of the tongue backwards and upwards almost to the position for
R initial ; and the sound thus produced may therefOTe be used as initial R in
practising words beginning with that letter. At first it may be necessary to
give the subsequent vowel a separate commencement, by a momentary occlusion
€€ the glottis after the R, — ^thus, r-each, r-ide, &c. to prevent the possibifity
of habit foisting in a little of the old guttural vibration between the new R and
the vowel. Fluency of conneidon wiU very soon be gained, and the roughest
Burr may be, by these means, perfectly cured !
R is a harsh letter in the mouth of a Scotchman. It is one of the pcHuts by
which a Northern utterance is most readfly detected in England ; for few Scotch-
men get over their vernacular habits in forming this letter. Yet, there is no rea-
son why they should not. If the true formation of the English R be understood,
and the difference between it and the Scottish R dearly apprehended, any one
may soften a rough R almost at the first effort. There is not the slightest diffi-
culty when the principle of f<mnation is known. There is a difficulty, however,
to unaccustomed organs, in producing a rolling or vibrated R. Many persons
cannot, fiiom want of lingual power, attain it. . If the tongue is too much tied
to the bed of the jaw, burring win arise fiiom the effort to make the roug^ R ;
and a labial modiJicaHon of sound, something like tr, wiU be produced by the
attempt at the smoother sound. This latter peculiarity would almost seem to
be cultivated among affected English speakers : — ^it is too common to be acci-
dental. " The umffness of the auwdinawy ahw^^^ say these sonorous re-
formers, " wendews its ewadication fwom wefined uttewance desiwable and
weaUy necessatoyy
An easy method of developing vibratory power on the point of the tongue, is
to repeat, with open mouth, and with the utmost softness and rapidity^ articu-
lations of the letter D. Thus, de-de-de'de-de-de'de-de-de'de-de^ ^, ; or,
didididldididididididididididididididididididididididididididididididtd^ Sfc.
• Sw the Mouth.
ARTICULATIONS— R. 1 65
K is difficult— often peculiarlj so — ^to the Stammerer. The breath pours out
from the open and valveless channel with destructive impetuosity, and the
waste of the material of speech induces a series of efforts in head, and chest,
and limbs, to supply the place of the ungovernable agents of utterance. When
the Stammerer has brought his valve — ^the glottis — ^under due control, he will
have but little difficulty in restraming the pressure of the chest, and completely
obviating all the distressing distortion of the impediment. He must carefully
study the mechanism of the R, and enounce it, if necessary, separately at first,
to break the association between it and the stammering paroxysm. A little
practice will render this expedient unnecessary, and enable him to effect its
combination with fluency.
R final is, we have said, so purely vocal, that we do not reckon it an arti-
culation. The student, desirous of acquiring the smooth pronunciation of this
English element, should practise the lists of words terminating in R, (pages 107-8)
giving to the R and re the vowel-sound of i in sir. Let him at first sit before
a glass, and, while he sounds this vowel, observe his tongue rise very gently ;
but not so much as to create a his^g of the breath, or vibration of the tongue.
If aA be sounded for R-final, with an observed elevation of the point of the tongue^
the English element will be very speedily perfected. Uneducated Cockneys
sound ah, toithout this lingual elevation^ — sah for «r, heah for here, Sfc,
An English peculiarity, not confined to Cockneys, or to the uneducated, is
the insertion of an R between vowels. Thus, when one word ends with a
vowel, and the next begins with one, the tongue strikes glibly up on the palate,
and gracdessly obviates hiatus, by interposing an r. ^'' Is papa r at home f '
^^ I saw r aunt,'''* " What an idea r it isT^ This obtrusion is only heard
after the open vowels 69 7, and 10 ; the formative apertures of which are but little
different from the aperture of the English r(8). Thus we never hear " (ro r
away,'*'' " / see r it now,^"* because the R in English is never sounded without
its vowel effect in connexion with long close vowels. This is one of the most
inveterate of all habits of speech. The only cure is to finish the first vowel by
a smart momentary occlusion of the glottis ; and give the subsequent one thus a
separate commencement. Children may easily be prevented from falling into
this habit, and it is surely worth the little attention and care it requires.
R and L are very liable to be confounded when they occur in proximate
syllables. The vocal aperture for the former is over the point of the tongue, and
for the latter over the sides at the back of the tongue ; and there is a difficulty
in passing quickly from one to the other of these positions : thus in the sentence,
" Little Richard wrote a letter; yes, a letter little Richard wrote,^^ — or in
the quick reiteration of the Scotch nursery-rhyme, "i2o6 Low^s lum reeks,^^ few
persons will avoid some confusion of the R and L. A similar difficulty presents
itself in such words as literally, literary, literarily, Sfc,
This is an organic difficulty, and on all such, highly useftd exercises may be
arranged. The following will be found extremely beneficial in giving power
and precision of action to the tongue.
1 66 ARTICULATIONS— R.
Repeat the oombinations tiequentlj, and with verbal accentuations.
rala, rele, liH) rdo, xxx^oo,
lara, iere, liri, loro, looroo,
ralalani, relel^«, riliHri, rololoio, rooloolooroo,
lararala, ]a:erel6, liririli, lororolo, looroorooloo.
R initial receiyes no articulation in combination with it in Rnglinh. In
French we find rw^ as in roi, roideur, ^.
R unites with the initial articulations P, B, F, Th, Sh, T, D, K, G, as in
pretty, bride, freeze, three, shrink, try, dry, crime, grief,
W seems to have been at one time sonnded before R ; it is still written, and
in Scotland we frequently hear it pronounced by old people in such oommon
words as wretch, wrong, wrUe^ wright, ^, It has been noticed that w is
dlen sounded instead of R as an affectation.
Exercises.
Initial, — Reap« reef, wreath, wreak, ream, reave, rebus, wreathe,
read, reel, rear, reason, regal, reach, regenerate, ripple, riffc,
rhjthm, risk, rickets, writ, ribbons, rim, riyet, risen, riddance,
rinse, rigour, rill, rich, ridge, raj, rapier, wraith, race, ratio, rake,
rate, raiment, raye, raze, radiate, rain, rail, rage, reprimand, re-
fluent, rest, reckless, retinue, rebel, (s.) remnant, reverie, reser-
voir, red, render, regular, relegate, wretch, rap, raffle, rascal,
rash, rack, rat, rabble, ramble, ravage, radical, ransom, rag,
ratch, raillery, rasp, rather, ruption, ruffian, rustic, rush, ruck, rub,
rumble, ruddy, run, rug, raw, wrought, wrath, rostrum, rock,
rotten, robber, romp, rosin, rod, rondeau, roar, roe, rope, road,
robe, roam, rover, rose, rote, roan, roll, rogue, roach, rue, rufous,
ruth, Tockerjf route, rutilant, ruby, room, roost, ruse, rouge, rude,
ruin, runic, rule, rye, ripe, rifle, rice, ride, rhyme, rive, writhe,
rise, write, rowel, rout, rouse, round, royal.
Between vowels, — Eyry, ear-ache, leering, peeress, mirror,
miracle^ spirit, lyric, Pyrrhic, herring, berry, burial, sterile,
merit, airy, variable, garish, unwary, fairy, parish, arid, carriage,
tarry, harrow, marrow, tarry, (ad.) starry, hurry, aurist, oracle,
sorry, torrid, horrible, borrow, tomorrow, warrior, tory, soariag,
borer, gory, poorer, curer, lurid, moorish, jury, alluring, ironj,
pirate, fiery, wiry, showery, oowering, towering, dowery.
ARTICULATIONS^L. 167
Observations. — ^This is the most clearly sonorous of all the articulations.
It is formed by a uninterrupted current of pure voice, flowing over the sides of
the back of the tongue— and little if it all affected by vibrations of the apertures
through which it passes. The fore-part of the tongue is in contact with the rim
of the palatal arch, and laterally with the teeth. This is the articulating j7o^'^n
of L, and were there no subsequent action necessary to complete the element,
L would be simply a vowel. But the oral aperture is changed by the removal
of the fore-part of the tongue ; and this action constitutes the letter an articular'
tion. The nasal elements, we have noticed, (page 179) have a similar vowel-
vocality ; — ^with them as with L, it is the removal of the apposed organs which
constitutes them Articulations. This accounts for the syllabic fdnction which
these letters perform in such words as saddle, sadden, &c., where / and n
without any vowel sounded in connexion, form distinct syllables.
The formation of L is very often faulty — sometimes jfrom the apertures
through which the voice flows, being contracted so as to cause a degree of vi-
bration on the sides of the tongue ; sometimes from the breath not being per-
fectly intercepted by the point of the tongue ; — sometimes from the tongue being
too thickly pointed-^and not sufficiently spread out in front — so that the breath
escapes too far forward, and by too elongated openings ; — often from the
tongue habitually taking the unfavourable position of turning its tip downwards
to the bed of the jaw, — ^thus causing the rounded back of the tongue to rise into
the palatal arch — and depriving the articulation of the clear, sharp, and per-
cussive effect of the removal of the obstructing fore-part of the tongue ; — some-
tunes from rounding the lips — either with or without the lingual action — so
as to modify the voice almost into oo or W ; as " the wady is weh-oo,'*'' — (the
lady is well .*) and, in not a few cases, from making the articulative position
perfectly obstructive, and passing the sound through the nose — with the effect
of ng, or a modification of nasal quality, between that of ng and n. These and
other minor diversities of mal-formation of this most mellifluous element, are
remarkably common. A Scotch peculiarity, is the superaddition of a vowel
sound, — nearly that of n(9) ; the / being thus made to sound almost like ul in
ultimate. This is not when initial, but when a vowel precedes the / as in ale,
sell, &c. pronounced a-)ll, seh-iil, &c. When L should make a separate syllable,
the same sort of sound is frequently heard. There is a greater tendency to this
faxHt when L follows the dose, than when it follows the open vowels. There
is indeed an organic preference for the mterposition of some open vowel between
e(l) and I, arising from the difficulty of shifting the tongue ragidfy from ita
lumpish position at ee to the very different sharp attitude of L ; as 'm/eel, field, &g.
The incombinable nature of these formations is seen also in the want of fluency
in the combination Ly. When these occur in one syllable — the tongue would
fain pass over the y and pronounce lure, and lute, simply loor, and loot; but
1 68 ARTICUL ATIONS—L.
polite usage forbids tlib, yet authorizes a compromise of the difficulty ; and^ insteatl
of requiring both articulations to have their full formation by the removal of
the point of the tongue between them, allows the tip to remain on the palate,
while the middle of the tongue rises a little : a softened effect of Y is thus pro-
duced as the succeeding vowel opens from the described position. This half-
formed T is represented in some pronouncing dictionaries by an apostrophe : —
thus, to represent the sound of the words lure and lute^ the notation in Smart^s
excellent Dictionary, is Voor^ I'oot^ &c. When the / and y are not in the same
syllable — as in value^ volume ^ &c. — both may be correctly articulated.
To perfect the articulation of L, let the student adopt the various means of
practice subjoined, and, whatever the nature of his mal-articulation, it will very
speedily be removed.
Adjust the mouth carefully to the position for L, — the tongue spread out,
elevated to the edge of the palatal arch, and pressing firmly against it, — the
lips drawn hack and perfectly separated at the comers, so as to permit the
sound to pass out uninfluenced by the lips. Let the arrangement of the
tongue against the palate in front — (by no means touching the front teeth) —
and laterally against the inside of the teeth, be perfectly obstructive. Produce
as clear a vocal sound as possible, — its vowel quality will be something like
the French u — and continue it for some time with the articulating organs per-
fectly steady ; then, by a rapid backward action of the whole tongue, modify the
sound to that of the vowel aw. The under surface of the tongue should be
kept in sight throughout. Repeat this with increasing rapidity, till the syllables
produced are shortened to lollolloUoll, &c. In the same way, proceed with the
other vowels till the formation of L with the vowels is perfected. Then take
the combinations, Im, In, Ir, Ig, lb, Iv, Iz, Id, ly, and practise them with
vowels before and after them, — at first prolonging the L for some seconds, to
be assured of its correct formation and pure vocality, and gradually giving it
the natural duration. The tongue must not leave its position for L till the
instant of the formation of the succeeding element. Many persons are unable
to produce L in combination with M, as in «/m, hdm, &c., without interpoinng
a vowel. There is no difficulty in the combination when the mechanism is
clearly understood. After these letters, followed by vowels, can be fluently
articulated, practise them without a final vowel, — ^thus :
aim alv alb alz aln aid alg,— zc^i^^ ^^ i, 5, u.
L is so short before the breath articulations, that its prolongation, as in the
previous exercise, would be unnatural and a useless means of practice. Let
the student form L in the following combmations, by striking the tongue in-
stantaneously to its position, — stopping the vowel and the sound of L together,
but retaining the tongue silently for some seconds in its place, before pro-
ceeding to the next articulation, — ^which must be formed without any interven*
turn of sound or breathing, — ^thus :
il p el p al p ul p ol p.
al f al th al s al sh al t al V^-^wilh S, i, 5, ti.
ARTICULATIONS— L.. 16^9
h final also should be separately practised. After the long vowels^ let it be
quickly articulated, — eel, ail, arl, url, awl, oal, 561, — and after the s^or^ vowels^
let it be a little more prolonged — ^^, gll, lU, 511, til. But in every instance it
must be definitely finished by a smart recoil of the tongue from the palate.
L, like the nasal liquid N, is a very difficult letter to the Stammerer. The
exercises above prescribed will be found sufficient to perfect the articulation —
when, by a preliminary course of practice, he has mastered the fimdamental
processes of speech. When he can govern the chest and glottis, and keep
the tongue and jaw steady during the continuous flow of the vocality of /, he
may safely proceed to these exercises ; but we must here again remark, that it
will be hopeless to attempt to correct any individual fault, till the organs and
processes employed by the defective element have been first brought under
perfect control.
The Stammerer will find it a useM exercise at first to give a distinct '•*' coup
de la glottet^'' (see page 15) to the commencement of the sound of ?, and pro-
nounce it as a distinct syllable, even when initial ; but he must gradually wear
out of this : for the stress of every word should be on the vowel only.
L, like N, is most difficult with the close lingual vowels, 1, 2, 3. Such
words as little^ lily, literal, &c. are severe stumbling-blocks : the little scope
for action which the vowel allows, the abruptness of the vowel, and the subse-
quent articulation requiring the same organs as the /, so disincline the tongue
to exertion, that it remains glued to the palate ; while the glottis, uselessly out-
pouring breath and broken murmurs, in vain endeavours to proceed without
the tongue; till the lungs are exhausted, and the effort of inspiration
probably disengages the fettered organ. The Stammerer must proceed cautiously
in his practice, and act on the preventive as much as he can ; for it is a work
of almost unmanageable difficulty to break the connexion between the spasmodic
actions of impediments when they once get a beginnmg.
Repetitions of the same mode of action by different organs, or of different
modes of action by the same organs, are difficult of articulation ; and form,
therefore, excellent exercises. L, with R or N, presents difficulties of the latter
class, which will be found under the letters R and N.
L initial receives no articulation in combination with it. The softened effect
of y, heard in lunacy, lute, lewd, ^c. has been already noticed.
L unites with the initial articulations P, B, F, S, E, 6, as in play, blame,
flame, slave, class, glass.
Exercises on L.
Initial. — Lee, leaf, leave, lethal, lease, leash, leisure, lenient,
league, leech» liege, lip, lift, lithic, listen, liquor, little, liberty,
limb, live, lizard, lid, linnet, ligament, Uly, lichen, lace, lake, late,
label, lame> lave* lathe, lazar, leopard, left, lethargy* less, lecture,
Y
170 ARTICULATIONS^L.
levitj, leather, led, leg, lexicoD, ledger, lassitude, lacquer« lattice,
labefy, lambf layisb, laniate, landlord, latch, lax, lath* last, lass,
laths, laugh, launch^ laundress, larceny, larmier, larva, lard, largo,
larch, large, learn, learning, luff^ lustre, lumber, love, lunch^
longe, lull, lawful^ laud, lawn^ lop, lofty, loss, lottery^ laurel,
longitude, logarithm, loD, loricate, lodge, lord, lorn, lore, lo,
loaf, loath, locust, lotion, loath, load lonely* logography, logician,
loo, loop, loof « loose* look, looby, loom, lose, loon, lool, lie, lion,
life, lively, like, light, library* lime, lithe, lies, line, ligure> lyre,
lout, loud, lounge> lower, loyal* loiter, loin.
L\ — lucid, lute, lewd, lunacy, lunatic, lunar, lune, lure, lurid,
leucine, lubric, luce, lucifer, lucre, lucubrate* ludicrous, lukewarm,
Inmachel, luminous, lusory* lutist, luthem.
Between vowels. — Feeling,mealy, pillow, silly, miller, sailor^tailor,
railing, gaoler, teller, pellet) cellar* bellows, zealoti fallow, sallow,
tallow, ballot, mallet, dally, rally, gallon, sully, gullet, mullet,
appalling, tallish, drawling, galling, lawless, apology, dollar, folly,
collar, hollow, jolly, polar, solar, bowling, molar, roller, lowland,
holy, foolish, cooling, ruler, pulley, fuller, bullet, woollen, filing,
silex, tiler, mileage, reviling, wily, beguiling, owlet, howling,
oily, toilet, boiler.
Before a breath articulation, — Scalp, whelp, help, pulp, culpable,
culprit, pali&ey, self, shelf, pilfer, sylph, dolphin, gulph, wolf, stealth,
wealth, health, filth/ also, false, pulse, dulcet, talc, calx, whilk,
elk, silk, bilk, milk, bulk, mulct, hulk, altitude, spilt, filter, milter,
wilt, guilty, lilt, jilt, pel,t, belt, welt, welter, deltoid, knelt, paltry,
falter, salt^ vault, waltz, sultry, culture, multitude, vulture, belch,
filch, milch.
Before a voice articulation, — Filbert, bulb* Talmud, palmated,
psalmody, whelms realm, helm, film, holm, fulminate, culminate,
elvesi salvo, alveary, valve, salvable* galvanism, selves, shelving,
twelve, delve, silver, solve, evolve, resolve, pulverize, culverin,
almost, almoner, alnage, always, railway, palsy, pails, feels,
whiles, tholes, stools, squalls, ills, dells, holes, bales, oils, boils,
scowls, bowls, balls, mules, veils, wales, wiles, walls, dolls, galls,
lolls, lulls, reels, rolls, rules, rills, sealed, wild, wold, old, ruled,
cooled, scald) bald* seldom, weld, guildry, wilderness? shoulder,
hold) balderdash) mulled, world, pulled, failure, million, filial,
steelyard, guillotine, stallion, collier, bullion, scullion, algor, algua-
zil, Elgin, vulgar, amalgamate, palely, wheelless, saiUess, solely.
ARTICULATIONS— T. 171
coallike, coolly, molelike, vilelj, fuUj, foully, ill-looking, soullike,
railroad, wheelrigbt, bulrush, algid, bilge, bulge, fulgent.
L a Syllable, — Steeple, people, ripple, nipple, maple, staple,
apple, couple, topple, sniffle, whiffle, shuffle, scuffle, ruffle,
trifle, rifle, stifle, castle, pestle, wrestle, thistle, bristle, throstle,
bustle, nestle, shackle, tackle, freckle, speckle, stickle, pickle,
cockle, chuckle, huckle, battle, cattle, nettle, kettle, tittle, little,
pottle, bottle, scuttle, able, sable, table, feeble, bible, ruble, babble,
rabble, nibble, dribble, cobble, hobble, stubble, bubble, evil, bevel,
devil, hazel, easel, bamboozle, dazzle, embezzle, drizzle, grizzle,
nosle, puzzle, muzzle, ladle, needle, beadle, sidle, bridle, saddle,
peddle, middle, riddle, fiddle, toddle, puddle, eagle, ogle, bugle,
haggle, angle, wrangle, higgle, wriggle, single, tingle, goggle,
bungle.
Note. — ^Always sound the vowel between n and /, as in tunnel^ Jlannel^ {fc,
L /naZ.— -Ell, peal, feel, wheel, ciel, heel, keel, reveal, weal,
zeal, congeal, hill, ill, pill, fill, thrill, thill, sill, kiln, will, chill,
ail, pale, fail, whale, sail, inhale, kail, tale, mail, avail, wail, theyll,
flail, rail, ell, propel, fell, sell, shell, tell, rebel, (v.) mell, well
knell, yell, shall, snarl, carl, marl,, pearl, whirl, girl, cuU, mull,
dull, gull, lull, purl, furl, curl, hurl, churl, awl, appal, fall, thrall,
instal, shawl, recal, tall, ball, maul, waul, drawl, gall, haul, extol,
doll, loll, foal, poll, total, soul, shoal, coal, toll, troll, whole, boU,
mole, dole, goal, roll, jole, pool, pull, fool, full, stool, cool, tool,
bull, wool, yule, rule, isle, pile, file, while, style, chyle, tile, bile,
mile, revile, wile, beguile, owl, foul, cowl, howl, growl, oil, spoil,
foil, soil, coil, toil, boil.
T.
Observations.— Previous remarks (pages 40 — 42) will have sufficiently
explained the nature of the Obstructive Formations, of which this is one.
We may therefore confine our observations here to the mechanism and individual
characteristics of the articulation T, referring to the above-noted pages for
information regarding its principle of explosiveness. In forming T, the edge
of the whole tongue b laid against the front and sides of the mouth, so as per-
fectly to obstruct the breath. While the tongue is in this position, there must
be a continued pressure of breath against it ; and whenevei* an aperture is made
by the removal of any part of the obstructing edge, the confined breath will be
172 ARTICULATIONS— T.
emitted with a degree of explosiveness more or less strong, in proportion to the
degree of its previous compression behind the tongue, and also in proportion to.
the abraptness with which the aperture is made. Among the numerous defects
of speech which come under the notice of one extensively engaged in the wwk
of correcting mal-articulations, the breath will be found to escape from the
obstructive position T, through apertures of every possible variety, both of
position, shape, and size. Sometimes from the very back part of the mouth,
with a cluttering sound, it will issue through apertures over one or both sides of
the tongue ; sometimes through lateral apertures at all anterior points ; and
correctly, through one front central aperture, by the complete disengagement of
the whole tongue from the palate. Another mode of emitting the compressed
breath from the articulative position T, is by the nares or nostrils, — a faulty
mechanism more common than perhaps most persons are aware of. The correct
articulative action is, we have said, the removal of the whole tongue from the
palate. Let the student practice this action by articulating the following
syllables in rapid reiteration till he can perfectly disengage the tongue in this
way with considerable explosive force and abruptness : —
ate, ete, ite, ote, oot: at, et, it, ot, ut.
The syllables should be kept severally distinct, thus, — at, at, at, at, at,
&c. ; and not atatatat, &c. Such must be the mechanism, in all cases, of T
initial or final : but when the liquids / or n follow T in the same word, the
lateral explosion before /, and the nasal before n, are not only admissible,
but they are the regular and necessary formations of T in such cases.
Thus \n fitly and fitness, &c. ; battle, nettle, little, &c., and batten, bitten,
button, &c., the point of the tongue is kept in contact with the front of the
palate, in forming the tl ; and the whole tongue is retained in its obstmotive
position during the utterance of the tn. The reason of this will be evident after
a moment^s reflection on the formative actions of I and n : it will be found to
be impossible to articulate t independently of these actions, with sufficient fluency
for consecutive syllables of one word. The same combinations, however, in
proximate words, when the letters have not a syllabic relationship, must not be
articulated thus by one action, unless in common colloquial phrases. Correct
reading requires the final element of every word to be finished independently of
the letter which may begin the next word. The student should therefore prac-
tise the articulations 1 1 and t n'm this separate way — ^till he can produce them
lightly and clearly without coalescence.
ate nay at nal ate lay at Ian — with e, i, o, u.
T beforeP,K,B,G, — which otherwise completely obstruct the breath, — ^is liable
to be reduced to the character of a mere stop without any audibility : and
before m, which also occludes the mouth, it is liable to be nasally finished. To
obviate tiiese sources of indistinctness, let the following Table of these combin-
ations be practised.
ate pa ateka ateba atega ate ma f ... . ti
at pat at kat at bat at gat at mat \ ^' *' ^' 66.
ARTICULATIONS— T. 173
T is a very ^fficuit articulation to the Stammerer. It has all the heaviness
arising from the downward pressure of the chest — the strong conjunctive or
upward bearing of the jaw — the muscular laxity of the mouth— the elements
of impediment in the obstructive articulations generally; in addition to which
it has another source of difficulty in its own articulative action. Often the ex-
plosion of the T will be distinctly lieard, yet there the Stammerer sticks fast,
imable to combine the next sound with the t This sort of difficulty may be
caused by want oi glottal power ; but it will frequently be found to be merely
articulative. Only the point of the tongue is disengaged— *-it is turned downwards
so as to allow the breath to escape — but at all other points, the tongue remains
in contact. The effect of throwing down the point of the tongue is to elevate
the middle of it; and the very worst position for speech is thus assumed. Let
the Stammerer practise syllables and words endmg with T, and observe, by
looking in a glass, or placing his finger in the angle of the neck and chin (as
directed at page 151), that the whole bulk of the tongue recedes m the mouth to
finish this articulation. When iSm final action is mastered, let him practise T
initial; at first, if necessary, separating tlie T firom the next element, by its own
backward action, bat restraining any unnecessary waste of breath ; (page 40)
and by degrees he will be able to unite them with natural spontaneity.
A not uncommon fault of articulation is the substitution of tl for cZ, and dl for
gl\ as in clean^ glean, &c., which are thus mispronounced ilean, dleati, &c.
The difference in the effect of this unwarranted combination is so little, that it
might readily escape observation, except from ears accustomed to vocal analysis.
In the north and west of England this peculiarity is especially common.
T initial combines in English with w, r, sh, and ^, as in twine, true, chain,
tune, S is the only articulation with which t unites, as in stay, stray, &c.
Th is a common English digraph, but it represents a simple sound.
The combination Tsh is of very frequent occurrence, though we in no
instance write it. It is one of the simplest possible combinations ; for the T
merely gives an obstructive commencement to the Sh. Tsh is the breath form of
J=dzh ; and while the latter is reckoned an Alphabetic element, and represented
by a single letter, the former— which is the very same articulation->is written,
inconsistently enough, ch,
Ts, which does not occur initial in English, but is common in the German
and other languages, is another equally nmple form of double articulation :
from the position T, the tongue is advanced a little, and the breath exploded
hissingly through the aperture of « ; as for tsh, the tongue is slightly retracted,
so as to explode the breath through the aperture of sh,
Ty is liable to be mispronounced Tsh, firom the cause explained at page 184 ;
but after a few of our lingual exercises have been mastered, the tongue should
have acquired sufficient neatness and precision of action to contradistinguish
these combinations without effort or ambiguity.
174 ARTICULATIONS—T.
Exercises.
Initial, — Teothe, tease, tedious, teal, tear, teach, 'tis, tissue,
titular, titillate, tint, tilt, phthisic, ticket, tingle, tinkle, tinge,
taste, ta'en, tail, temporal, tempt, tetter, tessellated, tetrical,
tent, telegraph, ten-ible, technical, tegument, techj, text, tap,
tassel, tatter, tattle, tadpole, tangible, tantalize, talisman,
Talmud, tariff, tactic, tag, tangle, tank, tax, task, tars, targe,
tartan, tardj, tarn, target, teiminate, terse, ternary, twopence,
tuft, tother, *tusk, tush, tut, tunnel, turpitude, turtle, turgid,
turnkey, turkey, tuck, tug, tongue, touch, taught, tawdry, tawny,
tall, talk, torch, torse, torsion, tortoise, top, tomahawk, toft, toss,
totter, toddle, tensile, tolerable, torrid, tocsin, tongs, tore, torn,
toper, tome, toast, toes, total, towed, tone, toU, token, toga,
tooth, toot, tool, tour, took, tithe, ties, tight, tidy, tine, tile, tire,
tiger, town, towel, towers, toy, toise, toil, toilet.
Tw, — Twang, twain, twattle, twaddle, tweak, tweedle, tweezers,
twelve, twelfth, twenty, twig, twilight, twill, twin, twine, twinge,
twinkle, twirl, twist, twit, twitch, twitter, twixt, twice.
TV. — Treason, treat, treacle, trip, tribune, trim, trivial, trist,
trinity, trill, trick, trigger, trinket, tringle, tract, traipse, trace,
trays, trade, train, trail, treble, tremble, trespass, tressel, tret,
trench, trellis, treasure, treachery, trap, tramp, traffic, traverse,
trash, traditive, transit, tragedy, track, tranquil, trance, trouble,
trump, truss, trudge, trundle, truckle, trunk, troth, trot, trod,
traulism, trollop, tropical, trope, trophy, trover, troll, trochee,
treat, true, troop, truffle, truth, truce, truculent, tripod, tribe,
trifle, trice, tries, trite, trident, trine, trigraph, trowel, trout,
trowsers, troy.
Tsk — Cheap, chief, chieftain, cheese, cheat, cheer, cheek,
chip, chimney, chivy, chisel, chit-chat, chid, chin, chilly, chicken,
chink, chafe, chase, chaste, chain, cheverel, chess, chest, chair,
cherry, cheque, chap, chaffinch, chastisement, chat, chariot,
chaff, charm, charge, chart, chirp, churn, churl, chough, chuckle,
chop, chalk, chose, choke, chew, choose, chime, chide, chine,
chouse, choice.
Ty, — Tew, tewel, tube, Tuesday, tuition, Teutonic, tulip,
tumid, tumult, tune, tunic, tureen, tutor.
Between vowels, — Veto, sheeting, eatable, metre, heater, iterate,
ARTICULATIONS— T. 175
pity, bittern, mitten, fitting, wittj, whittle, citizen, titter, dittj,
knitting, little, pretty, kitten, fritty, yictuals, eighty, mated, fated,
waiter, sated^ dated, later, rating, gaiter, grater, hated, potatoe,
petted, etiquette, better, fetter, setting, jetty, debtor, letting, netted,
reticule, kettle, attic^ pattern^ battle> mattock, fatten, shatter,
tatting, latter, clatter, hatter^ chatty^ utter, button, mutton,
subtle, shuttle, jutting, stutter, nutting, clutter, gutter, daughter,
naughty, haughty, haughtiness, pottage, bottle, motto, sottish,
shotten, jotting, totter, knotted, lottery, rotten, cottage, grotto,
gotten, Hottentot, otter, oaten, potable, boating, yotary, dotage,
notary, lotus, coating, gloating, booty, footing, suiter, imputed,
beauty, sooty, shooting, duty, tutor, neuter, lutist, rooted, cuticle,
hooting, plighted, biter, mighty, fighting, cited, indicted, benighted,
lighter, writer, flighty, frighten, triton, outer, shouter, shouting,
undoubted, routed, moiety, loiter.
Before an articulation. — Sweetmeat, vitriol, vitreous, gateway,
pastry, etching, Etna, wetnurse, settler, detriment, retrograde,
platform, catcall, thatching, fastness, vastly, pasture, disastrous,
lastly, ghastly, artful, artless, partner, partly, partridge, parch-
ment, martlet, marching, tartlet, carthorse, pertly, virtue,
utmost, butler, suttler, curtly, cutler, culture, vulture, paltry,
watchman, botcher, motley, courtly, sportsman, boatman, note-
book, boathooks, nightcap, sprightly, nightly, rightly, outmost,
outward, voucher, outrage, adroitly.
Final, — Peat, beet, meat, complete, feet, seat, sheet, neat,
leet, greet, heat, priest, yeast, list, wrist, pit, bit, emit, fit, whit,
wit, knit, lit, it, kit, grit, hit, eight, pate, bait, mate, fate, wait,
innate, elate, crate, great, hate, pet, bet, met, whet, wet, fret,
jet, debt, quartett, net, let, regret, yet, pat, bat, mat, fat, vat,
that, sat, gnat, rat, cat, hat, hast, chat, past, mast, fast, vast,
last, art, start, tart, dart, cart, heart, chart, squirt, flirt, avert,
shirt, dirt, skirt, but, put, shut, jut, nut, hut, hurt, ought, bought,
thought, sought, taught, nought, wrought, caught, wart, sort,
distort, short, tort, snort, pot, what, sot, shot, jot, tot> dot, not,
lot, rot, cot, yacht, got, grot, hot, sport, port, court, oat, boat,
moat, note, coat, goat, put, boot, moot, foot, soot, shoot, newt,
impute, mute, suit, lute, root, cute, coot, hoot, argute, spite, bite,
mite, fight, white, wright, site, tight, indite, night, light, write,
kite, height, pout, spout, bout, devout, stout, shout, doubt, lout,
rout, clout, gout, out.
176 ARTICULATIONS— D.
D.
Observations. — ^This articulation bears the same rdation to the preoeding,
tliat B does to P, Y to F, Z to S, &c. Its articulative position and action are the
same as those of T ; but while the tongue is in contact with the palate, the vdce
is exerted, and is heard with a muffled murmur — ^the breath which produces the
glottal vibration, dilating the pharynx. Distinctness veiy much depends on the
audibiUty of this sound. The student should therefore practise this and the other
vocal obstructives, till he can give their vocalitj as much duration as it is cap-
able of, (see page 137.) Our remarks on the formation of T apply equally to
this element, which is liable to the same faults of articulation, defects, &c The
exercises given for t may therefore be practised with D substituted, (to give
distinctness to its combinations ;) thus —
ade nay, ad nad ; ade pay, ad pad ; &c.
The Stammerer must study the general mechanism of the vocal obstructives,
(page 43), and acquire power over their formation, by prolongation of the
pharyngeal murmur — and strong, yet not wasteful explosions, before he sets to
work to battle with his difficulties on this articulation. He must be able to
retain the articulative position steadily — to perform the articulative action
rapidly and independently of all other positions and actions — and, lastly, to pass
trippingly from one position to another, without attempts at impractible coal-
escence, and without losing any one of the peculiar effects of each articulation.
His cure, thus founded on power over the organs and operations of speech, wOl
progressively advance with rapidity, in proportion to his energy and watchful-
ness. Having gone through this training, the Stammerer will not only feel
himself relieved from the oppressive incubus which tormented his whole ^^ dream
of life," but he may rejoice in a freer possession, and more conscious enjoyment
of the crowning faculty of man, than the best of merely instinctive speakers
who never felt the sore deprivation, and who know not the value to their social
happiness of that power of speech which they ignorantly exercise.
D initial, like T, unites with W, R, and Y ; and with the vocal form of
Sh — as in dwarf, drew, due, and Jew, It combines with no initial articu-
lation : we write Bd in bdellium, but the B is silent. Dy is apt to be con-
founded with Dzh, as Ty is slurred into Tsh, by careless tongues.
The combination dzh=J is one of the simplest forms of double articulatioii —
in this respect analogous to the French Bw and Pw, and the German Ts or
Dz. The same articulating agents are used for both elements of the combin-
ations : the continuous elements being merely explosively commenced by the
momentary oral occlusion of the obstructive element. This obvious simplicity
of the combination dzh may be the reason why it is denoted by a single charac-
ter in our language.
Exercises.
Initial. — Deep, deem, deify, devious, deed, deal, dear, dip,
dibble, diffluent, dividend, dithyramb, dissipate, distance, dismal.
ARTICULATIONS— D. 177
ditto, did, dinner, diligence, dig, ditch, day, dace, daisy, date,
deign, dale, deprecate, debit, deference, death, desk, desuetude,
desert, debt, dead, dense, denizen, dell, deck, dapper, dabble,
damp, damask, daffodil, daggle, dash, dandle, dangle, dance,
dapatical^ da-capo^ darken, dam, darling, dart, dearth, dirt, dirk,
double, dumb* doye, doth, dust, dusk, dozen, Dutch> dudgeon,
dungeon, dulcimer, ductile, daub, dauphin, dodge, dot, daughter,
dodder, dawn, donatiye, doll, dock, dog, donkey, dormant, dorsal*
door, dome* donor, doleful, douceur, doom, doodle, divers, dice,
dies, dive, diagram, dike, doubt, dowdy, doughty, down, dowlas,
dowager, doit, doily.
Dr, — Drab, drachma, dram, drama, draff, draft, drag, dragon,
dragoon, dr^in, drake, dramatic, drapery, drastic, draw, draught,
drawl, dread, drear, dream, dredge,' dregs, drench, dress, drift,
drill, drink, drank, drunkard, drip, dribble, drivel, drizzle, drive,
droll, dromedary, drove, droop, dropsy, dross, drover, drown,
drowsy, drub, drudge, drug, druggist, drum, druid, drumble, dry,
drily, drought, dryad.
Dy, — Dew, dual, duel, dubious, duty, duke, Dulia, duly, duo,
dupe, duplicate, dure.
Dv0, — Dwale, dwarf, dwell, dwelt, dwindle.
Bzhr=^J, — ^gelid, genuine, gender, genial, genus, genius, gentile,
gentle, geranium, German, gerund, gesture, gibbet, gibe, gigantic,
giUy-flower, ginger, ginseng, girasole, gjYQ, jabber, jacent, jackal,
jag.gaol, jangle, janitor, January, jargon, jaundice, jaunt, jaw, jeal-
ous, jeer, jejune, jeopardy, jerk, jerkin, Jersey, jessamine, Jesuit,
jetsam, Jewry, jewel, jib, jig, jilt, jingle, job, jockey, jocund, jog,
joint, joist, joke, jole, jolt, jostle, journal, jovial, joy, jubilant,
Judaism, judge, juggle, jugular, juice, jumble, junction, jingle,
junior, juniper, juratory, justice.
Between Vowels, — Eden, weedy, seedy, kneaded, leader, reader,
bidden, middle* fiddle, avidity, widow, diddle, nidification,callidity,
riddance, giddy, idiot, aid-de-camp, fading, shady, jaded, lady,
ladle, radiant, cadi, eddy, peddle, wedding, steady, ready, dreaded,
paddock, bladder, madder, sadden, saddle, caddy, gladiator, had-
dock, puddle, muddy, sudden, shudder, ruddy, huddle, boddice,
model, fodder, wadding, sodden, toddle, daudle, noddy, laudatory,
gaudy, odour, modish, boding, wooded, pudding, brooding, moody,
woody, sudatory, doodle, noodle, rudiment, hooded, bridle, widen.
178 ARTICULATIONS^N.
sidle, cider, tidy, rider, guidance, chiding, idle, powder, dowdy,
cloudj* crowded, embroider, yoidance.
Before cm Ariiculatian,^^&eed&igt needless, heedless, midnight,
fiddler, pedlar, bedlam, medlej, sedge, bridge^ widgeon, ledger,
ridge, page, wager, sagelj, rage, deadlight, hedger, padlock, badge,
badness, madlj, fadge, sadness, cadger, graduate, arduous, barge-
man, largess, margin, guardroom, commandment, worldly^ word-
less, curdling, maudlin, urge, fondness, wondrous, tawdry, lordly,
codling, cordwainer, gorgeous, wardrobe, bodementi loadstone*
roadster, lewdness, gamboge, bridesmaid, bridegroom, sidling,
guideless, proudly, loudness, voidness.
Final — Bead, meed, feed, weed, seed, indeed, keyed, lid, rid,
kid| hid, chid, obeyed, fade, inveighed, weighed, arcade, said,
instead, shed, dead, clad, glad, had, pard, bard, retard, card,
guard, bird, whirred, whirled, third, stirred, gird, world, absurd,
occurred, bud, fund, bestud, annulled, culled, gulled, odd, awed,
pod, pawed, sod, sawed, yond, yawned, cod, cawed, called, galled,
poured, board, ignored, implored, sword, abode, mode, flowed,
woad, wold, sewed, sold, code, goad, hoed, hold, food, mewed, feud,
viewed, wooed, wood, prude, brood, could, good, endured, lured,
cured, I'd, bide, confide, vied, wide, tied, died, denied, bride,
pride, complied, mind, mild, hide, hind, filed, find, defiled, bowed,
bound, wound, scowled, crowd, cloud, allowed, employed, yoid,
soiled, toiled, alloyed, cloyed.
N.
ObsKbyations. — ^The difibrenoe between this ardcnlation and the preceding
(D) 18 precisely the same as that between B and M, explained at page 138.
While the organs are placed in the orally obstmctive portion, the soft palate is
removed from the nasal openings, and the current of vmoe which would tlse
dilate the pharynx, flows continnonsly through the nose. If these passages are
not immediately opened, or if the breath is altogether intercepted for an instant,
it will pass into the pharynx, and the effect of dn^ as in miiMight, will be pro-
duced. D and N being the same lingual ardcnlation, the tongue must make
two strokes on the same part of the palate in order to articulate them separately ;
and when d comes before n in the same word, such separate articulation would
create a hiatus incompatible with the closeness of syllabic connexion. D and T,
therefore, before N in the same word, merely give an explosive oommenoteent
to the N» Many persons habitually give the nasals M and N, this initial ob-
ARTICULATIONSUJI. 17^
Btiuction ; and ih% oonTene fiEmlt, namelj, that of oommenciiig the explosives
nasally , b equally, if not more oommon. The tbree nasals an also r&j often
faxd^j ^nisked explosively, from a momentaiy oodnsion of the nares before
the articulative action is finished. We have noticed the peculiar liability of NG
to be thns terminated by 6. (See page 47). The voice, in forming N, most
be pure and onmixed with aspiration. The least contraction of the noetii]% or
their partial obstractioh from any cause, will create sniffling. If the nostrils are
pinched while fonmng N, the explosive effect of D with a nasal resonance will
be prodvoed. This sort of sound is caused by cM in the head, — ^wfaen tike
voice enters the nostrils, but meeting with dbstruoUons to its egressy the breath
ooUeets in the phaiynx, and the removal of the tongue from the palate is at-
tended by a degree of the explosiveness of D. If the nostrils are altogeAer
dogged up, it will be impossible to avdid this ambiguous effect, but a pure for-
mation of voice, and an effort of expansion in the nasal passages, will, in a greai
measure, obviate the sniffling which so oommonly results from this troublesome
cause. Many persons haUtually form the nasals with mudi of the character
of these cold-obstructed sounds. This peculiarity impresses the utterance very
strongly ; it is altogether incompatible with effective speaking. It may arise
from some organic defect, — from polypi,*— from excessive snuff*taking,— -or from
habit growing out of frequent liability to colds. Except where it originates in
structural affections, it may be entirely removed by careful practice of the im-
perfect elements.
N is almost invariably a source of great difflculty to the Stammerer, He
will generally have perfected the explosives, and nearly all the other articula-
tions, before he can master this letter, and perhaps L. The impediment on N
may be of a fourfold nature,— combining the difficulties which arise from mis-
management of the chest and organs of respiration,— of the glottis and sonorous
agents,— of the tongue and articulative organs, — and of the lower jaw. Without
further indicating the nature of the difficulties this element may present, we
may at once prescribe a means of practice for the acquirement of its true
formation, independently of all previously existing faults. Let the Stammerer
exercise himself with persevering hopefrd energy in the way we recommend,
above all, endeavouring to understand the principles on which he b workmg,
and he will not be long in attaining command over all the processes at fault ii|
hb impeded utterance of N.
Let him, with a glass before him, open hb mouth as widely as he can, and
retam it at its greatest opening, while he places the tongue on the palate, as
for D. Here let it rest steadily for some time :— it b in the position for adier
T, D, or N. Let him now produce a continuous sound, without the slightest
motion in any visible part of the mouth. Tins sound — ^if the tongue has been
obstructively placed on the paUte^^must necessarily pass through the nose.
While the organs remain in the podtion assumed, this sound b a nasal vowel ;
it b as clearly a vowel as €, o, or any of the recognised oral qualities of vowel
sound. The Stammerer will by thb exercise at once effectively counteract, the
dbturbing tendendes of the tongue and jaw ; and by strengthening and purify-
180 ARTICULATION&-N.
iDg the voice, he will gaiD glottal power ; while, by giving the wdl formed sound
as long continnanoe as possible, with the chest elevated, he wHl check the
heavy pressure on the longs, and acquire ease, steadiness, and power of re-
spuration.
The voice may also be exercised in the production of short and qui<&ly uttered
explosive jets of N-sonnd — as well as of the continuous stream — but, through-
out, keeping the tongue, lips, and teeth perfectly motionless.
These exercises will perfect the articulative position of N. Let the Stammerer,
when these have been sufficiently practised, add to them the action whiofa
completes the articulation,^i)y rapidly removing the tongue from all points of
upward contact. If the current of voice be continued, the removal of the tongue
will admit the breath into the mouth, and some vowel will be produced. Those
vowels which are formed with the tongue Jmchwards^ present less difficulty
with N and the other lingua-palatal articulations, than the vowels which
require the approximation of the tongue to the palate,— on account of the greater
scope which they afford to the articulative action. Thus no, (g)nat&, &c. are
much more easily uttered than (k)n66, (k)mV, nay^ &c. Let the Stammerer
therefore in adding the vowels to N, begin with the least difficult, — ^rdterating
each syllable frequentiy without any break in the continuous flow of glottal
sound. Thus
noo, noo, noo, &c. ; no, no, no, &c. ; naw, naw, naw, &c. ;
nah, nah, nah, &c. ; nay, nay, nay, &c. ; ne, ne, ne, &c.
nonononon, &c. ; nunununim, &c. ; nanananan, &c.
nenenenen, &c. ; ninininin, &c.
At this stage he must carefully t&atoA that no unnecessary action — especially
of the jaw— accompanj^ that of the tongue. The teeth should remain as steady
as if the jaw were hingeless, till the tongue can perform its office independently^
and with satisfactory rapidity and energy. This exercise should be followed
up by reading words with N initial ; and then by practising the combinations
in which N occurs, or any exercises containing the elements- which present a
difficulty.
N, like the other liquids, (see page 139) presents several marked varieties of
quantity. It is extremely short when followed by a breath articulation, as in
paint — ^longer when before a vocal articulation, as in pained — ^and longest
when final or before another liquid, as in pain and painless.
N initial combines only with Y. N unites with no initial articulation but iS,
as in snow. It occurs, however, before nearly all articulations in separate
syllables ; as in rain&ow, en/oy, en^fure, un/old, iri^titude, enhance, in^nue,
enclose, U9il:ennel, inlet^ inmost, unknown, unpardoned inroad, inralt, intact,
int;alid, unu;ise, intnre, irenzj^ en^Arine, panMer, meanu^Aile. iV^ is found also
in the following final combinations : — with d as in hend^ dzh as in hinge^ 9 as in
hence^ ^ as in bent, z as in lens, tsh as in bench, th as in plinth. The nasal
articulations are very liable to be exchanged in some combinations, so as organ-
ically to correspond to, and fluently combine with, the articulations with which they
ARTICULATIONS— N. 1 81
stand connected. Thus n before a labial articnlation in the same syllable, will
be changed to m ; and before kor g into ii^,-— as in Banff ^ pronounced Bamff^
vnht hanh^ &c. pronounced ingk^ bangk^ &c. A similar tendency is manifested
in the vulgar pronunciation of such words as lengthy strength^ &c., where the
ng before the lingua-dental articulation th is changed into n. This, however,
is to be avoided— because not sanctioned by the best usage.
Combinations of N and L present an articulative difficulty ; in overcoming
which, considerable lingual power must be acquired. The following arrange-
ments should be practised in rapid iterations. Pronounce each group of syl-
lables with the accent of a word. (See page of accents).
na la la na na la na la na la na la la na la na na hr^with e, i, o, oo.
The other lingual continuous formations may be added. Thus:
la na ra za tha la ra tha za na > -^ e i o oo
tha ra na la za za la tha na ra ) * i f *
The following will be found extremely difficult.
ninlil
111 nin
nin^lil nin
lilnin lil
nin lil lil nm
lil nin nin lil
nillin-rinnil
rinnil-nillin
Exercises.
Initial. — Knee, neap, neither, niece, knees, neat, knead, kneel,
near, nip, nibble, nimble, niveous, knit, ninnj, niggard, niche, naj,
nape, neighbour, name, knave, nasal, nature, nadir, nail, nepotism,
nebula, nemorous, nephew, nether, nest, net, knell, neck, negli-
gent, nap, navigate, nascent, nathless, gnash, gnat, narrow, knack,
nag, natch, nasty, nard, narcotic, nerve, number, nothing, nuzzle,
nudge, nut, none, null, nurse, nurture, gnaw, nausea, nautical,
naufrage, naumachj, normal, north, knob, nominate, novice,
nostril, nosle, knotty, nodule, nonage, nor, noxious, notch, know-
ledge, no, noble, gnomon, note, node, nones, knoll, noon, nook,
noodle, noose, nigh, knife, knives, nice, knight, nidor, nine, nigrin,
nous, noun, noy, noyance.
Ny. — New, newspaper, newt, neuter, neurology, nubile, nucleus,
nudity, nugatory, nuisance, numerate, numismatic, nutation^ nu-
triment, nubilous.
Between Vowels, — Venial, arena, penal^ verbena, pinnace, mi-
nister, finical, dinner, linnet, guinea, feigning, lanated, zany, rain-
ing, energy, penny, benison, menace, fennel, venerable, senator,
zenith, tenor, denizen, lenity, rennet, kennel, annals, pannel,
banish, manacle, flannel> vanity, sanative, janitor, tanner, inani-
mate, laniate, canister, hanaper, channel, panado, punning, money,
funnel, sunny, runnel, cunning, gunner, honey, brawny, fawning,
182 ARTICULATIONS—N.
tawny, dawuing, bonnet, monastery, sonnet, astonish, donatiTe,
nonage, chronicle, honour, honest, owner, ponent, donor, moonish,
sooner, tuner, lunar, lunatic, pining, briny, miner, refiner, shining,
china, clownish, crowning, poignant, joinery, coinage.
Before a Breath Articulation. — Plinth, terebinth, anthelmin-
thic, synthesis, Corinthian, tenth, panther, cantharides, canthus,
month ; expanse, manse, advance, stance, chance, dance, Iance»
rancid, handsome, pensiye, commence, fence, whence, thence,
tense, dense, against, hence, prince, mince, evince, wince, since,
linseed, rinse, responsive, monstrous, sccmce, once, dunce, runci-
nate ; bunting, afl&ont, wont, stunted, frontispiece, vaunt, want,
print, mint, flint, wintry, stinted, tint, dint, lint, hiut, chintz,
penthouse, bent, meant, eventful, went, scent, gentleman, tent,
lent, rent, pantry, banter, mantelpiece, phantasm, grant, slant,
saunter, sha'nt, chant, jaunt, taunt, daunt, can't, gaunt, haont,
learnt, painting, feint, attainted, mayn't, won't, pint, mounting,
fountain, counted, accountant, pointer, jointed, anointed ; mansion,
expansion, pension, mention, ascension, gentian, tension, dimen-
sion, essential, hcentious, appr^ension, prevention, provincial,
conscience, conscious ; pinch, bench, tench, wrench, stanchicm,
branch, staunch, launch, craunch, haunch, paunch, punch, bunch,
lonchion, hunch, munch.
Before a Voice Articulation, — Inborn, unbosom, anvil, envious,
invious, invoice, convict, unwell, ennui, pansy, stanza, Wednesday,
frenzy, kinsman, bronze, dens, fins, cranes, guns, bones, pans,
means, lines, tunes, crowns, coins, dingy, fringe, avenger, vengeance,
injury, spongy, range, lounge, feigned, gleaned, mined, bind)
crowned, coined, owned, surround, tuned, andiron, endless, endive,
index, indigo, indolent, indurate, undulate, under, pander, bandy,
manducate, jaundice, dandy, landscape, glandular, candent^
pendulum, fender, vendible, send, tendon, rhododendron, spindle,
brinded, vindicate, window, thinned, rescind, tinder, kindled^
hindrance.
Na syllable, — Happen, stiffen, even, heathen, leaven, seven,
often, hasten, fasten, listen, patten, mitten, mutton, button,
written, cotton, lighten, oaten, madden, bidden, ridden, sodden,
denizen, venison, benison, dozen, prison, mizen, risen, cozen,
fettten, kitten, bitten, rotten, glutton, frighten, tighten, Ugfaten,
heighten, hidden, ridden, trodden, hoiden.
N Jmal, — Demesne, intervene, ravine, ween, scene, siieen^
ARTICULATIONS-^H. 183
nineteen, terrene, serene ; pin, bin, ermine, leyin, fin, wliin, win,
thin, amaranthine, ursine, mountain, murine, akin, begin, ohin ;
pain, bane, fiiin, yane, ta'en, deign, ascertain, mundane, arraign,
murrain, when, wen, then, ten, den, again ; pan, ban, fan, yan,
<Aan, sedan, began ; bam, tarn, dam ; fern, cayem, concern,
leam, stem, jeam ; pun, bun, fiin, one, sun, shun, horizon, tun,
dun, none, run, spurn, bum, adjoum, turn ; au2n, pawn, brawn,
&wn, sawn, dawn, lawn, bom, mom, thorn, adorn, forlorn, com,
horn, upon, wan, shone, John, don, jon, gone; bome, moum,
worn, tom^ shorn ; own, depone, sown, shown, alone ; spoon, boon,
moon, swoon, soon June, tune, noon, rackoon ; pine, woodbine,
repine, mine^ nine, diyine, wine, <Aine, sign, resign, shine, tine,
dine, kine, chine ; town, down, noun, crown, clown, gown ; loin,
coin, groin.
Sh.
This element is heard when the pohit of the tongae, from its forward position
at 6, is drawn inwards, so as slightlj to enlarge the aperture through which
the breath hisses. The shape, too, of the passage, is altered by the middle of
the tongue rising within the arch of the palate. The general appearance of the
tongue is more thick and bulky than for S. This cannot be observed during
the artioolation of the elements, for the teeth are not sufficiently apart, but if
the mouth be opened after S and Sh^ without moving the tongue from the
artionlative positions, the difference in the elevation and apparent bulk of the
tongue will be e^ent. The observation in this way of the position of the
tongue is of much use in facilitating the correction of faults in articulation.
We have said that the point of the tongue is drawn inwards from its position at
S — but the kind of sound heard in Sh may be produced with the point of the
tongue merely depressed^ or even advanced to the lower teeth. The breath is
then modified by the approadnuMaon of the middle of the tongue to the interior
of the front rim of the palatal arch ; but this formation is a fimlty one, because
it does not easily combine with other lingual articulations. The tongue,
from its conformation, cannot pass with fruolity from one to another of its
positions, unless it is kq;>t free from contact with the bed of the jaw. Let the
student place the tongue in the position for S, and then, while the cnnrent of
breath flows uninterrupted, let him gradually draw back the tongae — ^keeping
the point at a uniform elevation — and he will modify the hiss into Sh. Let
him practise this action till he can pass from S to Sh, thence to S, then back
again to Sh, and so on alternately, repeatedly during one continued expiration.
The formatioii of iS% is very generally fitulty from an unnecessaiy aooompa-
nying projeotioii of the lips. The action of the tongue is not sufficienUy firm
184 ARTICULATIONS-^H.
and decided to give a distmctiye character to the hiss, and the dmnsy expedient
of fanaelling the lips is resorted to. The exercLse on S and Sh above pmodbed
will be nsefbl in manifesting both the existence and the ^Kspenaahility of tliiB
labial action.
The sound of this element is seldom represented by M, except when initfalor
final. Wherever the articolations s and y come together, as in words begimmg
with #, followed by alphabetic u, there is a natural tendency in the <»rgaiu to
strike sh instead of the ^. S is produced with the tongue comparatively flit
and pointed : Y is formed with the middle of the tongue raised in dose tp-
proximation to the roof of the palatal arch : and the position of sh bdng exadfy
intermediate,— the tongue somewhat retracted, and its bulk somewhat elevated,
—we see in the mechanism of the elements the reason why sh will very naturally
take the place of syia rapid utterance. This tendency is jdelded to in some
instances, but opposed by correct usage in others. In sure^ assure, insure^
Jissure, tissue^ kc., universal custom has authorised the exchange of sy for M;
but in suit^ sue, superior, &c., it imperatively forbids it. In these, and all
words containing this combination, we see the natural tendency strongly illaa-
trated in the pronunciation of the uneducated.
A tailor was threatening a debtor to shoe (sue).
Says he, needy witling, ^^ Kind sir, at your pleasure ;— -
But 1^11 thank you as much, and Hwere easier for you ^
Just to shoot (suit) me, — and now I can stand for my measure.**
The pronun(nation of the word sewer (a drain) illustrates the working of tids
principle, and also of one noticed at page 119, with reference to the vowel oo
befOTe r(8). The necessities of fluent speaking have demanded the curtailment of
this word as one not worthy of the more emphatic and deliberate prommoiatioa
of the double articulations ; and the identity of its sound, so shortened, with
another word, (sure) has rendered a vou^^Z-change necessary to contradistingmsh
them. This has been done by the substitution of o(ll) for oo; and the current
pronunciation of the word (shore) is thus very naturally obtained. This tendency
of anterior lingual articulations to take sh rather than the more difficult y into
combination with them, is further manifested in words containing y after f, as
in tune, tutor, Sfc. where vulgar pronunciation converts the y into dk. In
unaccented syllables, this change is made by more than the vulgar, as in nature,
feature, Sf^. whidi are too often colloquially pronounced na-tshocr, fea'tshoor,
ffn, ; but careful speakers should articulate fy in all such cases.
The vowel e, after « and before a vowel, is subject to be thus sunk into Sh in
unaccented syllables, as in osseous, &c. but it is one mark of good speaking to
be able to sound the vowel distinctiy, and without loss of fluency in such wends.
In the terminational syllables sum, turn, cial, tiaU cious, Spc, EngKdk
usage has fixed the sound of si, ci, ti, to sh. In IVench these qdlaUes are
pronounced se-on, &c.
In some words in which se or sy have become durred into sh, the ear dbes
not seem satisfied to lose all trace of the elided sound, and a soft ^eot of y is
heard, as in specie, tertian, Sfc,
ARTIGULATIONS-JSa. 185
Shy is a very nnflaent oombination : in these cases, sh has that degree of
prdongadon which it receives before another ardcolation ; and the tongne, before
leaving the palate for the snoceeding vowel, makes a slight backward and up-
ward movement, which produces a shadowy effect of y.
The student will find a uitefol exercise on the hissing articulaUons, 2%, s,
andsh^hy producing them m series repeatedly during the flow of one expiration,
without any intervening vowel-sound. Thus : begin with th, and change that by
a rapid motion of the tip of the tongue to s; then, by a farther retraction equally
rapid, produce sh ; then back to s and th^ and thence again to s and sh ; thns,
th-s-sh-s- th-s-sh-s- th-B-sh- s-th, &c.
SyllaUes with these elements alternately initial form an excellent lingual ex-
ercise. They present comparatively little difficulty when arranged in the order
of their formation ; th^ «, sh; or sh, «, th ; but when the anterior and posterior
formations come together, as in the following arrangement, they present a stum-
bling-block, which probably the best articulator will not get over without practice.
tha sha sa, sha tha sa, sa sha tha, sa tha sha, &c. — mih e, i, o, oo.
Let the three syllables, with varpng accents, be pronounced as one word, and
r^terated as rapidly as can be done with distinctness. Then let two of the com-
binations be united verbally, and read with varying accents ; thns, —
tha sha sa sha tha sa, &c. ; sa sha tha sa tha sha, &c. — with e, i, o, oo.
To the Stammerer who has sufficiently mastered the fundamental principles on
which his cure must be based, these perplexing combinations will be of much
service in developing power and precision of lingual action.
Sh initial combines only with R in English, as in shrew^ shrine^ jr. This
combination is harsh, and somewhat difficult ; and it tends to make our speakers
use the lips to assist them in effecting it more easily. Labial interference should,
however, — ^for it may, — be dispensed with.
Exercises.
Initial, — Sheep, sheaf, sheaye, sheath, sheather, sheet, sheen,
sheer; ship, shibboleth, shift, shirer, shin, shingle; shape, shame,
shave, share, shake; shepherd, shed, shell, shelf, sherry, shekel;
shabby, sham, shadow, shall, shackle* shag; shaft; sharp,
shard, shark; sherbet, shirt, shirk; shove, shovel, shuffle,
shutter, shudder* shun ; shawm, shawl, shorl, short, shop, shot,
shod^ sh6ne, shock, shog ; shore, shorn ; show, shoulder, shoal ;
shoe, shoot, should, sure, shook ; shy, shine; shower: chaise, chag-
rin, champaign, chandelier, charade, charlatan, chevalier, chivalry,
chevisance, chevron, chicanery.
Between vowels. — ^fisher, wishing, dishes, meshes^ ashes, bishop,
blushing, bushel, cushion* cushat, dashing, echelon, fashion,
Aa
186 ARTICULATIONS— Zh.
fishify, fleshiness, toshet, motion, mission, caution, nation, passion,
ocean, pension, possession, position, potion, precious, satiate, sus-
picion, suspension, trashj, usher, vitiate, yicious, washing, ration,
ambition, oppression, pressure, fissure^ issue, patient^ potential,
precocious, special, sociaL
Before an articulcUion. — Fishmonger, wishful, dish-cloth, ash-
lar, bashful, blushful, fleshlj, freshness, hush-monej, Mishna,
mushroom.
Before a softened sound of Y. — Asian, Ascii, Antiscii, cassia,
caseous, facial, Grecian, justiciary, nescience, Periscii, Russian,
specie, species, tertian.
Final. — Leash; fish, wish, dish, whitish, blackish, radish,
reddish ; flesh, fresh, mesh ; sash, dash, lash, gnash, rash, crash,
clash, gash, trash, hash ; marsh, harsh ; rush, crush, gush, hush,
blush, thrush, plush, tush ; quash, wash; push, bush : (Tsh) each,
beech, beseech, itch, witch, ditch, etch, wretch, latch, hatch, batch,
larch^ birch, crutch, lurch, church, botch, blotch, Scotch, porch,
poach.
Zh.
Observations. — This articulation, which is not uncommon in English,
arising oat of the necessities of flnent utterance, instead of 2^, has no appro-
priate symbol m our orthography. Before alphabetic uasyoo, we have it re-
presented by s, as in measure, S^c. ; and by 2, as in seizure, Sfc. It legitimately
occurs also in lesion, vision, SfC. ; and it is heard in transition, where the regu-
lar sound of ti, viz. sh, is vocalised, to avoid the less euphonious combination of
two hissing elements. Careless speakers pronounce zh instead of ^ in ^cfucate,
ereduiova, &c., and often even in accented syllables, as duke, duel, Sfc, This
will be carefully avoided by all who desire to speak well. In its formation, this
element is precisely the same as the preceding, with the addition of glottal
sound. In this simple state, it occurs initial in no Engh'sh word, but 10 inva-
riably commenced from the obstructive position d. The combination thus |Hro-
duced, namely, dzh, is represented by J or G, as in James, George, f^c,
Zh final is never unaccompanied by d, except in naturalized French words, —
such as rouge. Its English use is exemplified in yidge, cisge, &o. In the former
word, the letter d is redundant, since g alone, as in cage, represents the com-
bination dzh. The writmg of this redundant d is one of our orthographical
expedients to denote that the preceding vowel is to have its '^ stopped ^ or
*• short sound,"—- and the writing of a final e is another expedient to show
that the ^ is to have its ^* sofl,^"* or double sound, and not its *^ hard^^ or
ARTICULATIONS— y. 187
flingle Bound. How much more easy and natural would it be, — how muoh per-
^ezily would it save foreigners, — and how many weary tasks and useless
punishments would it ward from unhappy learners, if we could only be brought
to Qubmit our orthography to rational correction ? Here, for instance, is a
division of this work on a sound which our acknowledged literal symbols
furnish us with no mark to designate, — which is only recognised among the
elements of our language as one constituent of a double alphabetic sound, —
apparently deemed indivisible, because represented by a smgle letter ; and yet we
are compelled to use a digraph to represent the Jialf of this alphabetic mono-
graph, or we could not show its relation to the breath-artiottlatioQ of the same
formation, — sh.
Exercises.
Zh initial, — Giraffe, girandole. ^ adopted
Zh final— Rouge. / French words.
Between Vowels, — Lesion, adhesion, vision^ incision, transition,
derision, invasion, abrasion, occasion, measure, corrosion, diffusion,
contusion, delusion, intrusion^ illusion.
{D)zh final, -^lAeg^, siege, midge, ridge, age, cage, wage, edge,
ledge, pledge, hedge, badge, large, barge, serge, urge, budge,
grudge, lodge, dodge, gamboge, gouge.
Observations. — In forming this element, the back of the tongue is rounded
upwards to a dose position against the palate at a point intermediate to that of
the formations sh and ch (German.) If the effort be made to compound these
elements by sounding both together, the effect of a whispered T will be pro-
duced. The tongue thus placed is ahnost in the position for the vowel ee ; the
voice in Y has therefore the character of that vowel, — just as in ti? it has the
quality of oo, Y and W are articulated forms of the dose vowel-sounds ee and oo,
Y is always vocal in English : a very common fault among careless
speakers is to aspirate y in connexion with breath articulations, and often to
convert it into the proximate form sh. Thus tune is pronounced tshoon, —
beauteous, beautshus; righteous, rightshus; &c. This should be avoided, — it
is mere slovenliness.
The First Vowd, unaccented, before a vowel, as m filial, saviour, glazier, &c.
is in many words warrantably shortened into y. After the sound of Sh or Zh,
as in social, vision, &c. the y is often entirely sunk.
Y before the First Vowel presents a rather difficult combination. Many
persons entirely omit the Y in that situation : thus we hear of ** an old man
ie» ARTICULATIONS.IL
beodrng imder a weight of ears,*" instead of '' years.'' A little pnotm wiB
enable any one to master the oQmbination without sodi asinine alteratioDS.
The letter Y when final is always a rowel: it has the sound of the Sod Towd
in such words as mamf^ very^ &c and of the diphthong 7-1 in fty, fry, &e.
The Articolation T is never heard final in English ; it oocnrs in Frendi, as in
T initial oomlrines with no articnladon. The initial dements P, B, M, F, Y,
Th, (Breath) 8, Z, K, 6, take Y into oomtnnatioD, bnt only before the dose
labial yowd oo ; as in pure^ beauty, mew, feu, view, thurdde, gue, zeugma^
cupola, gewgaw. L, we have notioed« takes Y imperfisctly into oombmatioo,
as in lure, lute, &c
Exercises.
/ntfioZ.—- Te, yean, year, yeast, yield, yea, yarely, yell, yellow,
yelp, yes, yesterday, yet, yam, Yankee, yard, yam, yerk, yearn,
young, yon, yonder, yawn, yore, yolk, yokefellow, you, yew, Yule,
youth.
Between Vowels. — Oyer, lawyer, sawyer.
K.
This articulation is formed by the gUent contact and audible separation of
the badL of the tongue and the posterior part of the palate. The precise pdnts
of contact vary before the difierent vowels. Before the close lingnal vowd ee,
the tongue strikes the palate much forther forward than before ah or aw. The
orgims may keep to one uniform position before all the vowels, but there is a
natural tendency to aocomiHodate fodlity of utterance by these little changes,
which it would require an effort to avoid. The effect of the ^^ broad'* and
** dose'* formations (as we have seen them discriminated in a Gaelic grammar,
but never in an English one) differs only in the vowd quality of the breathing
emitted in the explosion that follows Uie separation of the organs. Bnt an
English peculiarity of degant speech depends entirdy on this trivial circumstance.
The posterior ^* broad" formation which would naturally come before the open
vowd ah(7) is exchanged for the anterior '^ dose" formation as a enpbonism,
in sndi words as card, carpet, kind, 8fC.
The vocal correspondent of this articulation (G) is subject to the same pecu-
liarity of formation, in sudi words as garb, garden, guard, guide, guUe, j*c.
There is an extremdy graceful effect in this, which is but dumsily imitated by
those who interpose an e or a ^ between the X; or ^ and the open vowd.
In Smart's Pronouncing Dictionary, the student is carefully guarded against
the affectation of sounding y in these cases, but, from the notation adi^ted, he
will still be apt to overdo the euphonic effect; for it is ranked as a separate
dement, represented by an apostrophe — ^tiins, c*ard, g*arment, S^c. We have
ARTICULATIONS— K. 189
described the organio cause of the peouUarity. The words which take this
anterior formation of k^ before the open vowel 7, are distinguished by italicsy
among the subsequent exercises.
In any- case of indistinct or impeded utterance, the podtion o^ihe point of
the tongue in this articulation must be observed. It is often thrust down into
the bed of the lower jaw, or against the lower teeth, but this is fatal to fluency
and deamess, and it is also offensive to the eye. The fore-part of the tongue
must be kept as nearly horizontal as possible in the formation of K. It may
even be folded backwards for the posterior E, but it can never be suffered to
descend ^rithout a samfice of neatness, which' a speaker of refined taste would
not willingly make.
To the Stammerer the observation of the tongue is particularly necessary. He
generally forms his k by forcing up the middle of the tongue against the top
of the palatal arch^ while the point of the tongue luds the effort to hold it there
by pressing down against the lower teeth or gums. The jaw, too, bears up-
wards with force upon the tongue, which, in the paroxysm of impediment, the
Stammerer is utterly unable to move. Sometimes the fixture of the tongue is
less complete, and in its efforts to leave the palate, the antagonist forces throw
the whole mouth and features into convulsive distortion. The Stammerer must
practise this articulation with his mouth widely opened and motionless^ so
that the tongue may be firee to strike and leave the palate unaffected by motions
of the jaw. Let the tongue be well exerdsed in the simple action of Ar, in com-
bination with the open vowels ah and awy until it can give off the syllables
with rapidity, and entirely by its own action.
ah kah kah kah kah kah kah, &c.
aw caw caw caw caw caw caw, &c
akakakakakak, &c. ; ockockockockockock, &c. .
The same may then be done with all tXe vowels ; and the syllables may be
arranged in word-dusters — dissyllabic, trissyllabic, and polysyllabic — ^with
varying ac-cents. — ^Thns
ickik,. eck^k, dkakak, okdkok, ukukuk, &c.
Aftar tliis exercise the Stammerer should be able to master lists of words with
k initial. Let him remember — ^if he find them inclined to be difiScult, that the
k is merdy a position fix>m which to commence the succeeding vowd ; that the
initial letter may practicaUy be considered as done, whenever the organs meet ;
for that then he has only to exert his voice to emit the vowel : the doing which
will open the mouth, and so finish the articulation, without his farther care. If
he attempt to make anything more of the consonant by pressure, he must inevit-
aUy faiL
The following will be found a nsefiil exercise on the three breath obstructive
formations, P, T, K.
kati^a, kapata, pakata, pataka, tapaka, takapa ; — with e, I, o, do :
kakpaptat, tatkakpap, papkaktat, ) . , « Y x «
kaktatpap, tatpapkak, paptatkak ; ; "'"'^ ^ *» ®' ^'
190 ARTICULATIONS— K.
Not only the Stammerer, but all speakers, especially those wluMe enmiGiatioiu
are indistinct, should cultivate this sort of oral g3rmna8tioB, as one of the most
powerful means of improving the articulation.
A common nngainliness of speech, and a frequent aggravation of a Stammerer's
difficoltj, arises, in words begining with qu, from anticipating the tr, hj project-
ing the lips while the tongue remains in the attitude of K. The mouth can do
only one thing at a time.
K initial combines only with tr, r, /, and y, as in quick, crime, climb, cure,
K unites with initiab, as in scheme, scream, &c. and with no other articulatioD.
Exercises.
Initial, — Keep, keen, keel, kipper, kick, kitten, kiudredy cape,
cake, cane, kail, cage, keg, kedge, kept, kettle, ketch, captain,
caftan, cat, cabin, cavern, caddj, canister, calumnj, cast, cask,
calf, calm, calve, car, carbon, card, cargo, carking, carman, carnal,
carp, carpet, cart, carve, kirtle, kerchief, cup, cof^ curse, custom,
curfew, cutler, curt, curb, cupboard, cumber, cover, cud, cunning,
colander, corpse, cough, cost, cocklearj, cottage, cobble, cockle,
compromise, conic, confidence, conch, coarse, court, cope, coke,
coat, coast, code, cove, comb, cone, coal, coach, coop, coo, cook,
coot, coom, cool, kite, kibe, kindness, kine ; cow, cowl, cower ;
coj, coif, coil, coin, coistreL
Kw, — Quack, quadrate, quaff, quaggj, quail, quaint, quake,
qualify, qualm, quantity, quarantine, quarrel, quarter, quash,
quassia, quaver, queen, queasy, queer, quest, quell, quench, query,
querulous, quibble, quick, quiet, quill, quilt, quinary, quincunx,
quinsy, quintain, quire, quirk, quit, quiver, quiz, quoit, qu(mdam,
quorum, quote, quotient, quoth, cuirass.
Kl — Cleave, clean, clear, clip, click, cliff, claymore, clavated,
clement, clever, cleanse, clapper, clash, clatter, clamber, clavicle,
clad, clannish, clarify, class, clasp, clerk, clergy, cluster, clack,
clutter, club, clumsy, clunch, clung, clutch, claw, cloth, clock,
clot, clod, clog, clause, cloak, clothe, close, (v.) clew, climb, cloud,
clown, cloy, cloister.
Kr. — Crape, crake, crate, crave, craze, craber, cradle, cripple,
crisp, cricket, critical, crib, criminal, creep, creole, crease, creak,
cream, creed, creel, crepitate, crescent, crevice, credulous, crassi-
tude, crash, crackle, crab, cram, cramp, cranny, crag, crank,
crash, craunch, crupper, crush, crumble^ crunk, crutch, crop,
croft, cross, crock, crotchet, chronicle, crow, croak, crone, crew,
crewel, croop, crucify, crook, cruiset crude* croont cry, crisis,
crime> crinite, crowd, crown, crouch.
ARTICULATIONS— K. 191
Ky. — Kew, kufic, kumia, cue, cube, cubeb, cucumber, culin-
ary, cuneal^ cupreous, curati^e^ curule, cute^ cuticle.
Between vowels. — Leaky, freakish, weaker, liquor, fickle, ticket,
bieker, wickedness, acorn, shaking, baker, maker, waking, naked,
echo, fireckle, decorate, wrei^ker, chequer, packet, focultj, sacking,
shackle, tackle, lacquer, racket, jacket, pucker, sucker, buckle,
bucket, knuckle, lucky, chuckle, pocket, socket, shocking, mocker,
knocker, locket, rocket, pawky, calker, talkative, hawker, mawkish,
gawky, chalky, poker, token, brokerage, croaking, choking,
joking, cuckoo, bookish, rookery, lucre, diker, liking.
K before an articulation, — Pickpocket, thick-pate» luck-penny,
duck-pond, cockpit, rock-pigeon, sack-posset ; accident, pack-staff,
text, tax, lax, cracks, ecstacy, excellent, six, text, vexing, dexterous,
next, cheeks, — pyx, fixture, bricks, mixture, vixen, — ox, flocks,
rock-salt, socks, shocks, intoxicate, box, docks, Occident, — succinct,
huckster, buxom, dux, luxate, luxury, juxtaposition ; action,
paction, factious, attraction^ transaction, — affection, section, vection,
connection, lection, objection, — ^fictions, conviction, dictionary, —
auction, decoction, obnoxious, — suction, fluxions, junction, anxious;
act, pact, active, factory, cactus, tact, hacked, backed, lacteal,
dactyl, — affected, ectype, sect, lecture, erect, nectar, rector,
checked, projectile,— picture, fictile, victor, addict, dictate, lictor, —
construct, ductile, conductor, ducked, instruct,— octave, shocked,
concoct, mocked, doctor, proctor, noctuary, locked ; backbone, black-
ball, sackbut, sick-bed; acme, packman, blackmail; — ^blackthorn;
backwards, awkward, aqua, equity, requisite, liquid, ubiquity,
equal, sequel, breakwater, colloquial, bookworm, lukewarm: —
back-door, backbite, background, back-piece, blackbird, black-jack,
black cock, blackleg, blacksmith, blockhead, book-binder, book-
keeper, book-mate, crackbrained, cook-room, cookmaid, inkling,
uncle, microscope, nictate, nictitating, nucleus, pic-nic, siccity,
tincture, vectitation, workhouse.
^ina{. -^Eke, pique, freak, seek, cheek, pick, kick, brick, wick,
ache, opaque, sake, cake, take, break, make, lake, rake, peck,
beck, deck, neck, wreck, cheque, pack, back, lac, rack, sack, tack,
arc, park, cark, barque, bark, dark, irk, dirk, perk, kirk, jerk,
suck, tuck, buck, duck, luck, chuck, work, lurk, murk, sturk,
sock, shock, fork, cork, calk, talk, walk, hock, mock, dock, lock,
rock, pork, poke, folk, coke, woke, croak, choke, puke, fluke, for-
sook, shook, cook, took, hook, book, duke, nook, look, rook, pike,
like, dike.
I9t ARTICULATIONS— G.
G.
Observatioxs.— The foniiitioa of this demoit b pROfleLj Uie stme u
thai of the preoediiig, but whh the adifitioQ of an effort of voice daring the eon-
tact of the aitiealating ofgans. It thus differs finom K analogpashr as B does
from Pf and D from T. Our remaiks on the position of the tongne, &c in
Ibrmtng K, win dieRfi»eeqaanTappljr to this letter, and the exerases arranged
Iot K, may, with the substitution of G, be adopted to perfect the aiticalation of
6, beloie ihe open vowds 7 and 8, and the diphthong 7-1, takes, in some
words, the same anterior (brmation as K in the same situation, producing a soft
eflect^-ahnost, bat not quite, — of the articulation T. The words wludi take
this (brmation of 6, are distinguished by italics among the Exerciaes.
A very common fault in the formation of G initial, consists in a degree of
nasality, which, for want of sufficient energy of articulation, precedes and
weakens the explosiveness of the letter, — good being pronounced ng-good^ jr.
The explosive pruper ty of the letter must be foraUy practised to correct this
habit — and, indeed, to make it manifest to ears unaccustomed to doee observa-
tion of the sounds of speech. It is a fiiult precisely analogous to the less com-
mon one of sounding mbefere &,orn before <2, as m-&«t for &t(<;ii-d(mV for doaV.
The vocal sound of this letter is very often feeble, or altogether wanting. It
cannot be continued indefimtely, but it is capable of considerable prc^ongatioa,
and the student should have the power of lengthemng the vocality to the utmost,
as a means of expresaveness. He should practise the following combinations of
the three letters of this class, giving to the articulations in the accented syllables all
the vocality he can, but carefully guarding against a nasal tone. In B, D, or
6, the v<»ce can only be continued while the breatii may pass into the pharynx ;
when this cavity is ftdly distended, the sound must cease, and on separating the
organs, a distinct explosion of the compressed breath will take place! If this
explosive effect is feeble, or if the sound is easily continued beyond a couple
of seconds, the voice may be suspected to be passing through the nostrils.
gabada, gadaba; badaga,bagada; dabaga,dagaba,
with e, i, o, oo — and with varying accents.
G, like K, is subject to the error of lateral explosiveness before L, — glove^
globe, 8fc. being pronounced dlove, dlobe, S^c, There is no organic necessity
to plead for this defect. The cure consists in rousing up the tongue to activity.
G initial combines with tr, r, Z, and y ; but very rarely with the first and
last of these in English. G enters into combination with no initial artiodation.
Exercises.
Initial — Gaj, gape, gate, gable, Gaelic, gaiter, gala, gain, gale,
gaze, gauge, gibber, giddy, gig, guinea, gittern, gairish, guest, get,
ARTICULATIONS— O. 193
geek, geese, gear, gabble, gadfly, gag, galaxy, gambol, gamble,
gamut, gaDglion, ghastly, gargarize, garb,, garble^ guard, guard-
tcin, garden^ garland, garment, garnish, garter, garth, gird, girdle,
girth, guerdon, girl, girlish, gudgeon, gulf, gulp, gullet, gumption,
gun, gurgle, gush, gusset, gust, gutter, guzzle, guy, guise, guide,
guidance, guile, guileful, gout, gown, goitre.
Between Vowels, — Eager, eagle, leaguer, regal, piggery, higgle,
bigger, vigour, digging, nigger, giggle, wriggle, trigger, jigger,
plaguy, pagan, vagous, jegget, beggar, legate, agate, haggle, maga-
zine, baggage, maggot, vagabond, waggon, dagger, gaggle, laggard,
ragged, jagged, sluggard, tugging, hugger-mugger, smuggle, drug-
get, rugged, juggle, maugre, augur, flogging, cogger, hoggish, boggle,
dogged, noggin, goggle, logarithm, joggle, toga, roguish, frugal,
gugar, bugle, tiger, bygone.
Ow, — Guelph, (guano, guava.)*
Gl. — Glee, glean, glebe, glede, gleek, glib, glimmer, glisten,
glitter, glacial, glade, glaze, glave, glazier, glare, glairy, glen,
glacier, glad, gladiate, gland, glandular, glance, glass, glut, glut-
ton, glum, glauber, glaucoma, globule, glomerate, gloss, glossary,
glottis, gloar, glory, glorious, glorify, glow, gloat, globe, gloze,
glue, gluey, gluten, gloom, glucine, glide.
Gr, — Grease, greasy, greaves, greedy, Greek, greet, gregal,
gremial, grief, grievance, gridiron, griffon, grig, griU, grim, grin,
grisly, gritty, gristle, grape, graceful, gracious, great, grateful,
greyhound, gray, graybeard, grave, gradient, grain, grail, grena-
dier, grapple, gracile, gratify, grabble, grammar, grampus, graph-
ic, gravity, graduate, grand, granary, graUic, graft, grass, grasp,
grub, grudge, gruff, grumble, grunt, groat, grogram, grotto, grovel,
grow, grope, gross, grows, grove, groan, grew, gruel, group, groom,
grumous, groove, gripe, grime, grise, grind, grouse, ground, groin.
Gy. — Gules, gewgaw.
Before an Articulation. — Quagmire, agminal, bagman, magpie,
ragman, segment, pigment, flgment, sigma, enigma, rigmarole,
dogmatise, zeugma, flags, plagues, intrigues, rogues, pegs, flgs,
frogs, mugs, jugs, exultation, exotic, exhibit, exempt, zigzag,
exergue, exist, hogshead, fagged, bagged, gagged, pegged, begged,
* These words, perhaps most frequently among the educated, retain the
Spanish sound goo^ rather than take the £nglish form gw. The distinction
manifests the d^ereace between the Articulation W and the Vovyel oo, which
many persons seem to have great difficulty in discriminating.
Bb
]»4 ARTICULATIONS— NG.
wigged cogged flogged, hogged, leagaed, prorogafid,
magnet, impregnate, regnant, interregnnm, agnate* ignotaneey
igneous, ignominj, signet, signal, dignity, ligniiiy bgnnm^TitaB,
cognisant, cognate, pngnacioos, agne, fignre, integnment* ambi-
goons, ligore, singular, angular, regulate, aigolet, jogolsr, a^fet,
straggler, dangling, wrangler, ganglion, giggler, singlj, ti ngling ,
jingling, o0t, gorgling, bonder, eaglet, egress, ogress, intq^ntj,
migrate, ragrant, nigrin, negro, geography, angrj, huogiy, men-
greL gangrene, jigj^- unguent, sanguine, languid, languor.
Final — Teague, intrigue, league, fig, whig, wig, big, pig, dig,
&g* "gr jig. plague, Tagoe, egg. peg, keg, kg, flag, stag, shag,
tag, hag, wag, nag, gag, lag. rag, jag, phig, dog, tog, hog, bog;
mog, dug, snug, lug, rug. jug, frog, cog, tog, hog, dog, agog, log,
jog, epilogue, apologue, prologue, disemhogoe, Togoe, rogue, pro-
rogoe, fugue, exergue.
ThB is the mod form of the preee£ag demeot : the organic ibnnatiaB bj
the tongue sod pdbte is preasdj that of G ; bat the re^icai or aoft palate is
removed from the naies. snd the pharrnx bemg thns icndered inrapdhle of le-
tjuning the hmth, the sonoroiK cnnent pAsses fireeh- out of the noatiiiB.
Ng is never used as an imitial aiticnlatioa in Engfish ; baft it does oeeor as
sodi in some languages : — For instance, in Wddi and in Son. Ai»nwg
individaal caeopkomic pecohaiities, mg is soowtiraes heard instead of L This ii
genendlv accompanied bv bmrrimg. The tongue, cither from bad liabii, or
from inability to kave the lower jaw, lies in the bed of the mooth, and ftnns
the Hngno-palatal artknilations bv the wuddU of the tongiw stiikii^
against the roof of the month. This makes the positioii fiir / neartr, or alto-
gether oftslnti^i'tv, and the effort to give cootinooos voice to the letter, of
coarse eaids the vocal stream through the nose. We have heard tfos glaring
error even in the polpit.
Softtt^ and sweet, in i^iqaid ii^vs.
The heavenji<^ haji^eaynjahs raise !
In most cases, this^ Hke nine tmths of aD varieties of defective artienlation,
is perlK'Uv curable : and e>-en where there is a stmctoral mattoniiatkiii. Art
can do much to lessen and cover the pecnfiarxtr.
It i» a |^^ucra) principle of articulation, that the organs employed in forming
aivy cWuicut «Ai>N/i/ 6<r SftpankUd ta ordier to coanpUte iL We have
at |mis« 47, Uic reason that in thus fe*i»»Kmg ji^^ ^bcre h a tcodoie
than iu \\w ^him^ of the other nasal sounds* to give a degree nf fifmamiMMi and.
ARTICUL ATIONS^NG. \ 96
conseqaent ezplosiveness to the breath-producing the double articulation ng g^
or ng k. Many persons find it difficult to finish ng by separation of the organs
without producing some effect of G or E, and they consequently form the
articulation imperfectly by simply stopping the sound in the glottis. When,
however, the ng final is followed by a word beginning with a vowel, the
organs must come apart ; and with the vowel — out comes the G,
The best way to get out of this habit is to practise ng as an initial before
all the vowels. This will have the efiect of at once manifesting the existence
and the nature of the defect, and the power to give the soft terminational action
will very soon be acquired.
nga, nge, ngi, ngo, ngoo,
ngang, ngeng, nging, ngong, ngung.
Exception has been taken by some critics to the English mode oi writing i^oE
element by ng^ because its sound contains neither an n nor a g. That the Al-
phabet does not supply a single character to represent this sound, which is un-
questionably simple, is undoubtedly a fault ; but until we have a distinctive
character, we could not wish a better digraph than ng — ^which, very appro-
riately, we think> symbolizes a na^al G,
N before g or k, (unless when the ^ or A: is in the accented syllable^ as in un-
godly, unkind, &c.) generally takes the sound of ng ; for the same reason that
n before p, &, or 77?, is converted into m — namely, the greater fluency of the
combmatiou. Thus the digraph ng oflen has correctly the sound of ng-g as in
finger, longer, S^c. The omission of the g in these words is a Scotticism.
Exercises*
Between vowels. — Hanger, hanging, banging, singer, bringing,
wringing, gingham, ringer, longing, wronging, bunging, dunging,
swinging, o'erhanging, singing.
Before a breath articulation, — Length, strength, strengthen,
lengthen, lengthwise, anchor, frank, thank, sank, shank, crank,
tank, handkerchief, banker, vanquish, dank, lank, rank, — ink,
pink, think, sink, kink, tinkle, minx, wink, zinc, drink, link,
wrinkle, chink, conch, concord, donkey, trunk, sunk, monkey,
quidnunc, junket, anxious, unction, compunction, youngker,
youngster, banquet.
Before a voice articulation. — Hangman, pangs, fangs, kingly,
wrongly, tongueless, youngling, youngly, anger, angry, angle,
spangle, sanguine, tangle, mangle, dangle, ganglion, gangrenous,
lauguish, anguish, wrangle, — pinguid, finger, single, shingle,
tingle, mingle, dingle, dangle, linger, jingle, longer, fungus,
hunger, bungle, younger, youngest.
Final. — Pang, fang, flang, sang, stang, slang, clang, hang^
196 ARTICULATIVE EXERCISES.
bang, fling, thing, sing, sting, spring, string, sling, king, cUng,
ting, bring, wing, ding, ling, wring, prong, thong, song, gong, long,
wrong, flung, sung, sprung, slung, clung, tongue, hung, bung,
among, dung, young, lung« wrung.
ARTICULATIVE EXERCISES.
The passages that follow contain instances, — 1st, of Double
Articulations ; 2nd, of Difficult Articulate Combinations ;
3rd, of ALLrrERATioNs and Difficult Sequences ; and, 4th, of
Miscellaneous Difficulties,
The eye is directed by italics to the leading points for practice
in the different sentences.
Double Articulations,
Hear both elements distinctly, with as little hiatus as pos-
sible.
A figure reg&l like, with solemn wiarch.
Goes slow and stately by ; whilst thej, distill*d
Almost to jelly with the act o//ear,
Stan<2 c^umb, and speaAr not to him.
Oh ! studiec? dieceit I
Fear is a good watchman, but a bac? (defender.
Hypocrites first cAeat the world, and at last, too, themselyes.
One vice is more expensii^e than five virtues.
Spenc? time in good (duties, andf treasure in good deeds.
Time i* 50 swift of foot th&t none can overtake it.
Trust not too far, anc^ mistrust not too fast.
TJse soft words, but hard arguments.
A little leaven leavenetA the whole lump,
'^ MAke clean our hearts within us."
In bulk as huge as whom the fables name of monstrous (size.
leyes.
Can the Ethiopian change his sldn, or the leopard his spots ?
Vaunt-couriers of oa^cleaving thunderbolts.
" His palsied hands seemed to waa? strong."
In horrid climes where Ghilo6*s tempests sweep.
Our soul hskiheth this light 6read.
Was it a wailing bird of the gloom,
WhicA sArieks on the house of woe all night ?
ARTICULATIVE BXERCIS£S. 197
Whose beard> descending swept his aged breast,
beer)
^^ And on the bridge of his well-arched nose
Sit Laughter plumed, and white-winged JoHitj"
Learn to live as you'd desire to die.
Idleness is an evil, — doing nought is next to doing naughtily.
Difficult Combinations,
Give each of the clustered elements its full separate audibility,
without hiatus.
" Yet the lark's shrill %fe rway come."
*' And the floors sAall be full 0/ t^Aeat, and the fats s^all over-
flow with wine and oil,"
^' Behold, I will do a thing in Israel, at which both the ears of
every one that heareth it shall tingle."
" What tho ugh eacA spark of earth-bom rapture fly ! "
'^ In septennial parliaments, your representatives have fHx ^ears
for offence, and hut one for atonement."
Can the husbandman look forward with assured confidence to
the expected increase of his fields ?
" Now on the leafless yew it plays."
" Long has it hung from the cold yew's spray."
" Oft by tha< yew on the blasted field."
Examples prevail when precej!>fs foAi
Frequent ^ood company.
Put ih/Q cut pMraphn in a pipibin.
A pair of (Irish yews.
(Irish shoes.
'^ Then pealed the notes omnipotent to charm,
And the loud tocsin tolled their last alarm."
Nor yet in the cold) ground.
coal|
My little ones kissed me a thousand times o'er.
In praising sparing be, and &lame most sparingly.
Malice seldom t£;ants a marA; to aim at.
We must not &lame/ortune for our faults.
We must hoh to time past to improi^e whskt is to come.
Alliterations and Difficult Sequences,
The reiteration of these sentences, as rapidly as may be done
with distinctness, will render them most improving Exercises.
Poor men want much, but wealthy men want more.
198 ARTICULAT1V£ EXERCISES.
Rags and liberty rather than links and riches.
Let reason rule jour life.
A versifier wants a very wonderful variety of words.
Hope, open thou his eye to look on high, and his ear to hear.
Teach thy heart the holy art of dumbly hearing truth.
Robert loudly rebuked Richard, who ran lustily roaring around
the lobby.
Ruglen*s lums reek 6riskly.
Rob Low's lum reeks.
Twice 2, and twice 2, with two times twice 2, 2, and twice 2,
are twenty-two.
Thrice three, and three times 3, with three-fold threes, and 3,
and 3, are thirty-three.
Four times 4, and 4, with 4, and 4, and four times 4, are
forty-four.
Five fives, and four fives, with five, and five, are fifty-five.
Six times 6, and six times 6, minus 6, are sixty-six.
Seven times 7, and thrice 7, with 7 more, are seventy-seven.
Eight times 8, and one 8, with 8 and 8, are eighty-eight.
Nine times 9, with 9, and 9, and no more nines, are ninety-nine.
Geese cackle, cattle low, cats and kittens caterwaul, cocks
crow, and crows caw.
Sam snufPs shop snuff,— do you snuff shop snuff ?
Fill the sieve with thistles, and sift the thistles in the sieve.
I like white wine vinegar with veal very well.
A man's manners, more than his merit, make or mar his for-
tune.
Drinking may drown care, hut cannot cure it.
Death is a direfiil debt we all are doomed to discharge.
The fool and the philosopher, princes, potentates, and panpers
— all must pa,&s the portals of the grave.
Learn what you like to learn, delight in learning what you
learn, and learn to like what is laudable.
Find a friend in adversity.
Godliness with contentment is great ^ain.
Human life has to hazard the heart-aches of hot-headed
humanity.
Have hope in holiness.
He dumbly honours the hoary head.
Hope is the highway to happiness.
ARTICULATIVE EXERCISES. 19»
He that swims in sin, must «oon sink in sorrow.
Kings, as well as mean wien, must die, — the conqueror cannot
carry his kingdom or his crown to the catacombs.
Money ma^es many men mad.
Diligence derides difficulties, and defies detriments.
Passion, partiality, and prejudice, are popularly plenipotent.
Sin and sorrow are inseparable.
Time and tide tarry not for the tardy.
Value virtue more than fame or fortune.
Virtue finds favour with all, though few fully follow it.
Yield not, you young, to useless yearnings, nor yet ye in years.
How high her highness holds her haughty head.
The witwal wings her weary way, where winter winds wither
the waving woods.
A merchant's mismanagement makes much mischief to the mer-
cantile machine.
Vice vainly veers in variegated velvet, — virtue veils her votaries
in vulgar velveteen.
False friends are far more formidable than fiercest foes.
They thought that throughout the theological theme they were
thwarted in their theory.
Several sailors saw the sottish soldier stagger senselessly to his
solitary cell.
Great ^ains are got hy gradual gatherings.
Many match-makers mistake the meaning of matrimony,
mating much money with mirth or moodiness, and marrying all
manner of minds.
As tippling, too often, in time turns to toping, temperance, we
are told, is not to be trusted, but the tighter tie of tee-totalism
takes away all tendency to intoxication.
Sunshine scatters life and loveliness around. The flowers feel
its fertilizing fervour, and spread their sweet-scented petals to
the beauty-bestowing pencil of their empyrean parent. All
creation's kinds, from the crawling insect to the creature king, —
man, monarch hj the might of mind,-— share in the sweet sensa-
tions which the sun inspires. Sorrow is assuaged, and smiles
supplant the streaming tears of the sunken spirit, and renovate
the rosy ruddiness of the cheerless cheek, and the bright &rilliancy
of the beamless eyes, while the heart heaves high with hope, and
the whole soul is harmonized into happiness.
200 ARTICULATIVE EXERCISKS.
Rough rolls the riyer^s rapid course through rugged rowi of
rocks.
Ba,d company makes the good &ecome bad, and the bad, at 5est,
it Setters not. ^
Wickedness, as well as virtue, wins upon us bj- degrees.
Captain Cunningham cut and come again.
Let the soup he heated before I eat it.
Peter Piper's peacock picked a peck of pickling pepper from a
paper packet. Did Peter Piper's peacock pick a peck of pickling
pepper from a paper packet ? If Peter Piper's peacock picked a
peck of pickling pepper from a paper packet, where 's the paper
packet whence the pretty speckled peacock picked ?
Miscellaneous,
Many of the following passages require very minute distinctive-
ness of utterance. Attend to the italicised points.
Be wise betimes, and warily beware.
To be loved is less than to be beloved.
If you be comely, behave becomingly ; if you be not, be becom-
ing in behaviour, and you will become comely.
Art thou afeard to be the same in thine own 1 act and valour,
as thou art in desire ? thy known |
Oh ! the torment of (an ever-iyieddling memory.
(a never
He was left in an inanimate state.
Every concession should be made in disputable or indifferent
cases.
" Yet half I see the panting (spirit sigh."
< spirit's eye.
" A warm tear gushed, — th5 wintry air
Congealed it as it flowed away ;
All night it lay fan ice-drop there,
(a nice
At mom it glittered in the ray."
The dispute about the jewel led to a fatal dtiel.
" A grammatist did you call that ignorant wiseling ?" " No !
an agrammatist I said." " What, anagrammatist ? — Why he
could not spell the word, far less write an anagram." " You do
not understand me, — I did not mean an anagrammatist, but
simply an agranunatist."
ARTICULATIVE EXERCISES. 201
A midshipman amid shipmen.
The alhpotent eight have over- reached the potentate.
Anatomy could not dissect an atomy so small.
You must abbreviate your abbreviature.
Choose a better companion than the abettor of a bettor.
Absurd it is to listen to such absurdities.
Although a Count he must be brought to account for this.
" The moon is not a crescent now, — she is gibbous." " Well,
she is still accrescent.''
Look through the aisle and jou will see the island.
Mjfriend is not a lawyer, (10-Y)— heis a?%«r(10-l)in themint.
Already we have got all ready.
Always try all ways to succeed,
I see no analogy here, I should rather call it an alogy.
A part has been laid apart.
Apperception means simply a perception.
The would-be-wise apposer has at last got a poser himself.
I beg to apprize jou of the capture of a prize.
This land greatly needs aration, and that would yield a ration
to the starving labourers.
I would not give a cent to see the ascent.
I do asseverate that this is the best hay ass ever ate.
He has gone away a way of his own.
Dr Rush calls every vowel a fonic,— and the voiceless articu-
lations he calls atonic.
To what cause can I attribute a tribute so flattering ?
Aucupation is a cruel occupation.
The doctrines of the Aularian are said to be all Arian.
Of what avail is a veil so thin ?
I could get bail if the bailiff would permit me.
You should not be droll when the beadroll is read.
Sancho wears a plate on his breast for a breast-plate, — he calls
it a cuirass, — ^is not Sancho a queer ass ?
The Muses may be nine in number, — ^but benign to my numbers
they are not.
This bodice is large enough for two bodies.
I saw the maniac threateningly brandish a large bran-dish.
The armed brig aids by sea the brigades on shore.
" Persevere /" was the order given to the chicken-hearted
c c
202 ARTICULATIVE EXERCISES.
Captain P. — He read it " Percy ^ veer !" aud turned off from his
dangerous post.
Kate if I knew who the caitiff was, I would horsewhip him.
A caravan sir is the travelling troop, — their resting places or
inns are caravansaries,
" Give the cat stale bread." " The cafs tail, mamma?"
" SUence child."
" How do you sell the white sheep ?" " White sheep ? — why,
cheap,^*
Each clansman bore a great sheaf as a harvest tribute to the
gray chief
" He is far from well. His wound is cicatrizing, but he, poor
fellow, is always so himself." " Always, how ?" " Why, sick at
rising /"
Will you assist us to plant a cistus ?
I never saw coctile food given to a cock till now.
Whether he credit or no what I say, I shall let his creditor
. know,
A constant smirk upon the face, and a whiffling activitj of the
body, are strong indications o//utility.
A sad angler A sad dangler
The same arrow The same marrow
To obtain either To obtain neither
Goodness enters in the heart Goodness centres in the heart
His cry moved me His crime moved me
He will pray to anybody He wiU prate to anybody
The row proved long The rope proved long
He could pay nobody He could pain nobody
A languid aim A languid dame
Luxurious oil Luxurious soil
Chase tars. Chaste stars.
PART THIRD.
THE POWERS OF THE LETTERS.
In learning to write a language, it would be but natural to begin
with a knowledge of its letters : in learning to speak one, it would
be as natural, surelj, that we should first acquire a knowledge of
its sounds. But this is not the custom among us. Our Abece-
darians begin by teaching us " our letters ;" tiiat is, not their
powers — ^the sounds for which they stand — ^though even this
would be a weary and profitless labour — ^but their names ; the
words by which the letters, as written symbols, are spoken of ;
and which often bear but little or no relation to their actual
sounds. The work of mastering the elements of reading is
thus rendered difficult beyond conception ; and instead of every
advancing stage being a valuable synthetical lesson, involving
the mental processes of reflection and association, it becomes a
mere trick of habit and memory, a work of mindless drudgery.
As some slight assistance to the youthful student, he is perhaps
taught the powers of the letters, but here again all is confusion
and complexity ; for he has the same sounds to learn over and
over again, in connexion with their various and irregular marks :
he has to recognise, for instance, the fve alphabetic vowel cha-
racters, as representative of not less than 30 sounds ; so that he
can gam no clear knowledge of the simplicity of the actual
elements of speech. And — strangely enough — at no future period
of his scholastic course does such knowledge form any part of his
acquirements.
Yet this, we maintain, should be the first thing taught. The
reason, perhaps, why it is not so, — or, at least, why it is altogether
neglected, — ^is, that teachers themselves are generally ignorant of
this department of elementary knowledge. Their own education
not only gave them none of this important knowledge, but, in a
great measure, unfitted them for becoming observers, and ac-
quiring it for themselves.
204 THE POWERS OF THE LETTERS.
The following examples famish some curious illustratious of
the orderless condition of English orthography. The test of a
correct representation of sounds would be, that Idl letters, in
whatever arrangement, and however transposed, should retain
their fixed individual sounds : as in the case of the word end ;
the letters of which may be transposed to ned or detiy while each
retains its own unaltered power.
As a man's character is best known by the company he keeps,
so the alphabetic characters are only to be sounded with certainty
when we know the literal society in which they are found.
Thus ; transpose the vowels in chcise, and, not unnaturally, the
chase results in aches. The largest moat may be literally proved
to be but an atom, — By mere disjunction of letters that which
was nowhere is now here. — Wo to him who shall take a t from two,
even as to him who shall dare to separate man from woman, —
Though you remove the t from there, yet here it remains. — Put c
before hanged — and lo ! how it is changed ! — Of all the letters in
the alphabet e is of most rise to us; — though b and y certainly
make us busy, — You cannot join / to o/, but it will instantly be
off, — 8 may well be called a " sharp'' letter, when it can convert a
word into a 5i(7ord-*-Though you take the first and last letters
from know yet it is now, no, — " Dust we are," and even the heart
resolves itself into earth, — We can take c from cease with ease ;
but w cannot be removed from wart without art ; and he who
would take v from vague will have an ague, — Take g from gown
— it loses nothing of its own ; add g to one, and, lo ! it is gone, —
Prefix to t£7e it becomes ewe ; unite thy and me they produce
thyme. Add one / to our— the product is /our.— Take off the w
from won — it remains on ; put it before hat — it is what ? try it
before here — it is lohere J Transpose the letters in node and bring
s to aid : — no sooner said than done. — The three letters in own
may be arranged into won; repeat the transposition, and own
them now, not won, B makes a salver out of salve, transforms a
cow into a crow, and lengthens eve into ever, E changes the pro-
noun ye into an eye, and the preposition to into a toe, and makes on
also become one, C charms away all harms, and its absence will
hough a chough. Give a 2? to an owl — it will become a botcl ;
keep it from Tom, or it will send him to the tomb. Take s from
shoes they become hoes ; if you ask how, s will promptly s?u)w it.
By taking t, he who forges, immediately forgets. Y converts a
SOUNDS OF THE VOWEL MARKS. 205
colon into a colony, and makes what is ours become yours. The
change of p into / puts |?mm in z,fuss. Write an /and you will
have fever for ever !
These examples might be increased to any extent, but they are
sufficient to show how little of rule there can be, founded on
letters, to guide the foreigner or the youthful learner to the correct
utterance of our written words. In further illustration of the
incongruities of our letters, and the inconsistent way in which they
represent our sounds, we have compiled the following Tables,
which show, in separate'arrangements, the sounds of our vowel and
articulation marks, and the marks of our vowel and articulate
sounds,
SOUNDS OF THE VOWEL MARKS.
The figures refer to the English Vowel Scheme^ page 81. Y and W
among the figures are Articulations,
A has the sounA, of 2> 3> 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, as in
2 S 4 5 6 7 10
orange, ale, ( ^<^i ^^) P^^^) ^^i™' 5 ^"^
\ &iy, ( swftn.
E " 1, 2, 4, 7, 8, Yew w
12 4 7 8
eve, England, < ere, clerk, err, righteous, (yus.)
\ 8ver,
1 2 7-18
I " 1, 2, 7-1, 8, Y, as in pique, ill, isle, bird, million, (yun.)
" 2, 7-13, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, CM w
2 7-lS 9 10 11 12 IS
women, accompt, f word, f orb, ore, ode, / dO,
1 85n, \ 5n \ w51f.
% i. 9 18 YIS W
U " 2, 4, 9, 13, Y13, W, as in busy, bury, f bQm, C rule, use, persuade.
Ibiid, \ bail,
2 7-18 Y
Y " 2, 7-1, 8, Y, as in hymn, by, myrrh, ye.
4 S
AA *^ 4, 5, as in Aaron, Isaac.
1
^ " ly as in Caesar.
1 3-1 8.4 4 4
AE '^ 1, 3-1, 3-4, 4, as in aerie, ae'rial, Israel, aer, MichaSlmas.
2 3 3-2 4 S 71
AI " 2, 3, 3-2, 4, 5, 7-1, as in captain, ail, dais, f air, plaid, aisle.
f air, I
I e&id.
AO " 3, 3-10, 3-12, 10, 12, as in
3 3 10 S-IO 3-12 10 12
gaol, chaos — aorta, Aonian, extraordinary, Pharaoh.
3 7 10 12
AU " 3, 7, 10, 12, as in gauge, aunt, f aught, hauteiur.
i Ifturel,
2()6 SOUNDS OF THE VOWEL MARKS.
10 tfw
AW kact the Hound of 10, 6W, <w in awlii], away.
2 3 4 71
AY " 2, 3, 4, 7-1, OA in Monday, lay, f prayer, ay.
( fcXys,
AOU " 13 or 7-13, <u in cooatchouc.
AWE " 10, as in awe.
S $-2 3 4
AYE " 3, 3-2, 3-4, cw /« aye, gayety, gayest.
EA " 1, 1-3, 1-5, 1-6, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, a^r in
1 1-3 l-S l-tf S 3 4 7 8
each, create, react, area, guineas, great, /wear, beart, earl.
thSalth.
1 1-4 2
£E ** 1, 1-4, 2, <M in bee, re-enter, breeches.
1 4
E'E " 1, 4, 09 in e'en, ne'er.
I 1-2 2 3 4 71
EI " 1, 1-2, 2, 3, 4, 7-1, as in ceil, reimburse, forteit, veil, f^^ur, height.
IhSifer.
EO " 1, 1-10, 1-12, 4, 9, 10, Y13, as in
1 MO 1.12 4 9 10 Y 13
people, theology, Creole, leopard, dungeon, George, feed, (fyood.)
r-4 labio- 9 or
S IiDfriwI= 4L-1 IS Y 13
EU " 9, or (cu French, 13, Y13, as in amateur, riieum, feud.
12 13 Tis
EW " 12, 13, Y13, as in shew, grew, dew.
1 2 3 4 7-1
EY " 1, 2, 3, 4, 7-1, as in key, monkey, prey, eyre, eying.
12 Y13
EAU " 12, Y13, as in beau, beauty.
EOI " 10-1, a* in burgeois.
12 IS YlS
EWE " 11, 12, 13, Y13, as in sewer, u or I f shore, sewed, brewed, ewe.
13 j ~ t •~''
1 3 7-1
EYE " 1, 3, 7-1, as in keyed, surveyed, eyed.
2 1-8 1-5 7-1-3
I A " 2, 1-3, 1-5, 7-1-3, 7-1-5, as in parliament, mediate, trivial, hiatus,
7.1-5
Iambic.
IE " 1, 1-1, 1-4, 1-8, 2, 4, 7-1, 7-1-4, as in
I 11 1-4 1.8 2 4 7-1 7-1-4
field, series, veriest, earlier, sieve, friend, die, science.
10 " 9, 1-10, 1-12, 7-1-10, 7-1-12, as in
9 110 1-12 7-MO 7112
motion, mediocrity, mediocre, lon-ic, vio-Ience.
OA " 9, 10, 11, 12, 12-5, 12-6, 12-7, as in
9 10 11 12 125 12-6 12-7
cupboard, f broad, oar, boat, coagulate, oasis, coarct.
Igi'Sat.
10 1 12 12.1 12 2 13
OE " 10-1 , 12, 1 2-1, 12-2, 13, as in oboe, doe, coeval poet, shoe.
SOUNDS OF THE VOWEL MARKS. 207
01 have the sound of 3, 9, 10-1, 12-2, 13-2, W7-1, WIO, as in
3 9 10-1 122 13-2 7-1 WlO
oonnoisseur, avoirdnpoise, coin, stoic, doing, choir, memoir.
00 " 9, 11, 12, 12-10, 12-12, 13, as in
9 11 12 12-10 12-12 13 i
blood, door, brooch, zoo-logy, zo-o-logical, f bloom.
IbSok
OU " 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, as in
9 10 n 12 13
{journal, C bought, four, soul, i thrdugh.
jotlng, \ c5ugh, \ w5uld.
713 9 10 12
OW " 7-13, 9, 10, 12, as in now, bellows, knowledge, know.
10-1
OY " 10-1, as in boy.
UA " W3, 6, W5, 7, W7, WIO, a« m
W3 5 W5 7 W7 WIO
persuade, piquant, quack, guard, guano, f squall.
(Sm Note, page 193.) \ squ^t.
UE " W1,4,W4, 8, W8, 13, 13-4,Y13,Y-18-4, fl«m
1 4 W4 8 W8 13 13-4 Y13 Yi8-4
queiy, guess, quell, guerdon, cuerpo, rue, cruel cue, duel.
UI " 1, Wl, 2, W2, 7-1, W7-1, W8, 13, 13-2, Y13, Y13-2, as in
1 Wl 2 W2 7-1 W7.1 W8 13 13.2 Yl3
mosquito, suite, build, quill, guide, quire, squirt, fruit, fruition^ suit.
yi8.2 i.
aguish.
UO " 10, WIO, Wll, W12, Y13-12, a5 in
10 WlO Wll W12 Y13-12
liquor, quondam, quorum, quote, duo.
2 W2 7-1
UY " 2,W2, 7-1, as in plaguy, colloquy, buy.
8
WE " 8, as in answer.
9 II 13
WO " 9, 11, 13, as in twopence, sword, two.
7-1 71-1 7.18
YE " 7-1, 7-1-1, 7-1-8, as in dye, hyena, dyer.
L^ "1-1 or Yl, as in minutisB.
4V Y13
lEU " 4V, Y13, as in lieutenant (=levtenant) adieu. .
lEW " Y13, as in view.
lEWE " Y13, 05 in viewed.
lOU " 9, as in cautious.
OEU " 13, as in manoeuvre.
OOE " 13, as in wooed.
7-13-4 12 12-4
OWE " 7-13-4, 12, 12-4, as in vowel, owed, lowest.
OWA " 11, as in towards.
UAY " 1, as in quay.
UAYE " 1, OS in quayed.
UEA " Wl, as ?w squeak.
*tm MAftKS OF TU£ VOWEL SOUJIU&
£U£ *' Wl : (u tR queen.
L'EU ** 9 (or 4 Z^^ «ir Freikdir) : «« ut fiqoeur.
UEUE *" iri3 : «s ui qnene.
UOI ^* ly WlO-l : «s ta tnrqiioifip, quoit.
COY "" WlO-l ; «s fs booy.
UOYE *• WlO-1 : af UI Unayed.
Silent Vimd Marks.
E t# n(ffi/ in hidden, fiuteo, BoAeD, &c., and genenUj when final.
I '' o-fl, derfl, &c
** rei0OD, pffison, &e.
AI *^ Britim.
UA ** victuals.
UE ^ pbgne, barque, barasgne, &c.
MARKS OF THE TOWEL SOUNDS.
Vowel
1 is represented ^ e, i, «, ae, ee, ee, ea, d, eo, ey, eye, ie^ ooi ; as iic
ere, fiitigiie, murntue, aerie, bee, e'en, eat, eonoeive, people, key, keyed,
field, tnrqiKnse.
2 '* a, e. If 0} 119 y, ai, ay, ea, ee, ei, ev, ia, ie, m, uy ; as in,
cabbage, pretty, fll, women, busy, hymn, moontain, Mooday, guineas,
breeches, foifeit, monkey, pariiament, sieve, build, plagi^.
3 ** a, ai, ao, an, ay, aye, ea, ei, ey, eye, oi ; as ui
age, aim, gaol, gauge, pay, aye, steak, vem, obey, prey^, oonncMaseur.
4 " a, e, u, aa, ae, ai, ay, ea, e^e, ei, eo, ey, ie, ue; at ui
{fare, f ere, b&y, Aaron, f aer, f Sir j prmyer,
mKny, | Sver, | MidiaSlmas, \ sSiid, \ g&ys,
{wear, ne'er, / heir, leopard, eyre, fiiSod, gnSss.
health, \ hSifer,
5 " a, aa, ai ; OS in amber, Canaan, raillery.
6 " a ; OS in ask.
7 ** a, e, an, ea, na ; as in ardour, clerk, haunt, hearty, guardian.
8 »' e(r), i(r), y(r), ea(r), ue(r), we(r) ; as in
her, firmness, hyrst, earnest, guerdon, answer.
9 " 0, u, eo, 10, oa, 01, 00, ou, ow, wo, ion, olo ; as in
{world f furnace, dunge5n, motion, cupboard, avSIrdnpoise, blo5d,
d8ne, I tigly,
{j8amey, bell8ws; twSpence, cautifios, colonel.
y8mig.
10 " a, 0, ao, an, aw, awe, eo, oa, ou, ow, as in
{fall j order, extraordinary (taught, awful, awe, George
w&nt (5ften |l]|ndanam
(abrSad ftbOaght
(grSat (hfiagh, kn5wledge.
II " 0, ew, oa, 00, ou, wo, owa, orps, as in
ore, sewer, oar, door, four, sword, towards, corps.
SOUNDS OF THE ARTICULATION MARKS.
200
Vowel
12
»>
13
»>
0, ao, au, ew, eaa, ewe, oa, oe, oo, ou, ow, owe, as tn
old, Pharaoh^ hauteur, shew^ beau^ sewed, oak, foe^ broocby soul,
crow, crowed.
0, u, eu, ew, ewe, oe, oeu, oo, ooe, ou, ue, ui, wo, as in
jdo /lule, rheumatism, grew, brewed, shoi, manoeuvre,
twolf XiM
j bloom, wooed f throu;rh, rue, fruit two.
iL5ak \ woilld.
Diphthong
7-1 is represented by i, y, ju, ay, ei, ey, eye, ie, ui, uy, ye ; as in
isle, by, niuvete, ay, height, eying, eye, lie, guide> buy, dye.
7-13 " 0, ou, ow ; as in accomptant, thou, bow.
10-1 '' oe, 01, oy, eoi j as in oboe, coin, boy, burgeois.
SOUNDS OF THE ARTICULATION BiARKS.
B is sounded as in babe.
H k tsh Csh
cell, cake, vermicelli, special,
sacrifice, (verb).
t dsh
deed, stopped, soldier.
V
feoff, of.
dsh Bh
gig, gem, rouge,
he, hky, high, hoe, hue, &c.
(the vowel /orma^wwj modify-
ing unvocsdized breath,) and
th
eighth.
dsh 7 sh
D
F
G
H
11
11
11
11
11
J
»j
jay, hallelujah, jambeaux.
K
»>
kick.
L
11
r
lull, colonel.
M
11
maim.
ng m
N
11
noon, an-ger, Banff.
P
11
r
Q
11
queen.
R
11
rare.
B sh zh
S
11
this, as, sugar, lesion.
sh Bh
T
11
tight, action, transition.
V
11
vivid.
W
11
wag, (this letter is also a
vowel mark.
ks gB 8
X
11
expect, exist, xystus.
Y
11
y^, (this letter is also a
vowel mark.)
Bh
Zm
sounded as in zeal, azure.
bb
bd
11
11
b bb
dubbist, dub-book. -
d bd
bdellium, obdurate.
bt
cc
11
11
t bt
debt, subtend.
k ks
tobacco, accede.
k
Bacchus.
tsh k sh
chapter, character, chaise,
dah
sandvtdch.
m km
drachm, drachma.
sh ks
fuchsia, stomachs.
cch
ch
chm
chs
11
11
11
11
cht
11
t
yacht.
ck
ckb
11
11
back.
b k b
Gockbum, cock-boat.
ckg
11
«ji^.
cq
ct
11
11
acquire.
t ksh kt
indict, diction, active.
cz
dd
11
11
8
Czar.
d dd
haddock, head-dress.
ddh
11
11
Buddhist,
dsh dg
judgment, Edgar.
Dd
210
SOUM0S OF TU£ ARTICULATION MARKS.
n dn
dn sounded as in Wednesday^ madness.
I dt
Windsor^ winds.
f f f
raffle, half-fee.
f ft
soften, softer.
p k g '
hiocoogby hoagb> ghostylaugh.
ds
ff
ft
ght
gm
gn
hn
kn
Id
if
lip
Ik
II
Im
In
Ix
mb
mm
mn
mp
nd
ng
nn
pb
ph
phth
pn
PP
n
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
»>
bought,
seraglio, ugly.
phlegm> phlegmatic.
n gn
gnomon^ signet.
n
John.
n
know
d 1 Id
wonld^ guUdfordj buQder.
half, self.
halroenny.
walk, elk.
1 u
falling, soulless.
m Im
psakn, ehn.
1 In
kiln, ftdness.
Iks
calx.
m mb
dumb> rhumb,
m
hammer.
m n mn
hymn, mnemonics, amnesty.
m n mp
CampbeU, compter, lahip.
ne nd
handkerchief^ hand.
ngg n-g ndsh
sing, single, ingraft^ fringes.
n nn
minnow, meanness.
b pb
cupboard, cupbearer.
V f p
nephew, philter, diphthong,
P'h
loophole.
t ^ th
phthisical, apophthegm,
pth
triphthong,
n ^ pn
pneumatics, cheapness.
p PP
supple, soap-pan.
pph sounded as in sapphire,
ps *^ psahn, perhaps.
•h pnh
psh " pshaw, upshot.
t pt
pt '* receipt apt.
kw k
qu ** qaake> quay.
r rh
rh " rhetoric> perhaps.
r r r
rr " error, poor-rates.
r
rrh ^* catanh.
n nh n
rs " person, Persian, bars.
r rt
rt '' mortgage^ heart
k ■ s
sc *' yisoount, science, discern,
■h ak
conscience, sceptic.
■ ah stab
8ch ** schism, sdiedole, mischief,
•k
school.
■b .1 sh
ah '^ shi^ dishononr, mishap.
1 al
si " isle, asleep.
n an
an " puisne, (p'*--puny,) snare.
a aa ■ ah
ss ^' loss, missent* sdssors, mission,
absdsnon.
a at
St " castlej history.
str '^ mistress, (colloq.misas) stress.
V
8v " Grosvenor.
a aw iw
sw " sword, sward, BosweU,
Ghiswick.
b tb
tb " hautboy, potboy.
t-h t
th " thigh, thy, pothouse, thyme,
tth
eighth.
1 ti
tl *' bristly, ghastly.
t 1 1
tt " hatter, boot-tree.
th
tth " Matthew.
t tw
tw " two, twain.
a
tzs ^' britzska.
h
wh " what, who.
SILENT ARTICULATION MARKS. 211
I
wl sounded as in knowledge.
r
wr " write.
S 8
ws " bellows, bellows (verb).
zv sounded as in rendezvous.
8 t8
zz ^^ buzzing, mezzotint.
SILENT ARTICULATION MARKS.
Or various ways of representing nothing.
B is silent in bdellium, dumb, debt.
science. Czar, muscle, black, acquiesce, indict, schedule.
Wednesday, handkerchief.
hali^nny.
bagnio, seragUo, phlegm.
heir, thjme, rheum, khan, John, ghastly, diphthong, character.
know, wreck.
alms, salmon, would, half.
mnemonics.
hymn, kiln.
cupboard, ptarmigan, pneumatics, psalm, bumpkin, assumption,
pshaw,
demesne, isle, viscount, chamois,
fasten, soften^ trait, mortgage, hautboy, Mattliew.
whole, who, sword, two, write, knowledge ; and when final,
when final after a vowel,
rendezvous.
Double Letters are generally sounded as one ; as in cannon^ better^ mis-
siUi pepper^ hammer^ beckon^ acquire, Sfc, One, therefore, is silent.
Ch is silent in drachm, yacht, bacchanal, schism.
c
»>
D
t»
F
>»
6
M
H
»»
E
t»
L
11
M
11
N
11
P
11
S
11
T
11
W
11
Y
11
Z
11
Ck
11
blackguard.
Dh
11
buddhist.
Gh
11
thought.
Ph
»»
phthifflcal, apophthegm.
Rh
11
catarrh.
Tr
11
mistress (coUoquial).
Tz
11
britzaka.
MARKS OF THE ARTICULATIONS.
The figures refer to the Scheme of English Articulations (page 54.) .
Articulation
1 is represented (^ c, k, q, cc, ch, ck, gh, ke, kh, equ^ qnc) och, qu, cq, Ik ;
as in can, kill, quit, account, diaiacter, ned^, hougfa^ lake, khan,
lacquer, pique, Bacchic, quay, acquire, walk.
2 " g, ggi g^i gtte> ckg ; <w in leg, egg, ghost, plague, blackguard.
3 " n, nd, ng, ngue ; as in ink) handkerchief, song, tongua.
4 " \\\ asin hue.
^ " e i i 11 v • fli? iw .^^^^» 5^®*"' lial^elujah, use, you.
e, 1, J, u, y , as in ^^^^^ |railUon
b
218 MARKS OF THE ARTICULATIONS.
Artkolstion
6 is represented by c, s, t, cli, chs, sc, sh, ss, sch, psh ; as in ocean, tension,
nation, chaise, fuclisia, oonscienoe, shape, omisaon, schedale, pehaw.
7 '* gf ge, 8, 8s, t, z/} ; as in giraffe, rouge, leisore, abscission, transition,
azure, jambeanx.
8 " rt\ as in — " honib)e» most horrible I'*
9 " r, rh, rr, rh ; as in race, rhubarb, mirror, mjrrhine.
10 *' 1, le, 11, h), si, sle, tie, gl ; as in late, tale, all, kiln, island, isle.
thistle, seraglio.
11 " t, te, th, tt, bt, ct, cht, pt, ght, phth, ed ; as in at, late, thyme,
cottage, debtor, indictment, yacht, ptarmigan, siglit, phthisis, stopped.
12 '* d, de, dd, bd, ddh. Id ; as in bad, bade, add, bdeUium, buddhism.
would.
13 ** n, ne, nn, dn. gn, hn, kn, mn, sn, sne, mp ; as in dnn, done, inn,
Wednesday, sign, John, know, mnemonics, puisne, demesne, compter.
14 " c, oe, p, sc, se, ss, ps, tzs ; as in ceD, ace, gas, scent, base, loss,
psalm, britzska.
15 '* ce, cz, s, se, sc, sh, ss, z, ze, zz, ds, x ; as in sacrifice, (v.) Czarina.
as, ease, ^scem, dishonour, scissors, zeal, baize, buzz, Windsor, xystns.
16 " h, th, tth, phth ; as in eighth, thing, Matthew, apophthegm.
17 ** th, the ; as in this, breathe.
18 " t fe, ff, gh, ph, pph, phe, ft. If; cwmleaf, safe, stiff, langfa, physic,
sapphire, ouphe, soften, half.
19 " V, re, f, ph, ZY ; as in ram, save, of, nephew, rendezroos,
20 " wh ; as in what.
21 " w, 0, u ; (M in way, one, quick — ^persuade.
22 '* p, pe, pp, ph, gh, 1^ ; as in pay, tope, tippet, ophthalmia, hioooagfa,
halfpenny.
23 " b, be, bb, pb ; as in crab, glebe, ebb, cupboard.
24s " m, mb, me, mm, mn, chm, gm, Im, sme ; as in aim. lamb. same.
common, condemn, drachm, paradigm, palm, disme.
To these we may add the common combinations ks-^z^ alphabetically repi««
Sented by x ; and tsh-dzh, the latter alphabetically represented by j ; the former
being commonly denoted by ch,
1-14 are represented by x, xc, xe, cc, chs, ks, cks, ques ; as in ox» except.
axe, accept, stomachs, works, wrecks, barques.
2-16 " X, gs, ggs ; <w in exalt, legs, eggs.
11-6 '* 0, oh, tch ; 05 in vermicelli, chair, watch.
12-7 " d, dg, dge, g, ge, gg, j, ch ; as in soldier, judgment, jadge, gem.
range, exaggerate, jay, sandwich.
NOTATION OF THE ELEMENTS OF SPEECH.
It would really be a matter of but little difficulty to reconstruct
our alphabet, aud furnish it with invariable marks for ovary ap-
preciable variety of vocal and articulate sound. So few as 12
NOTATION OF THE ELEMENTS OF SPEECH. 213
radical letters might be made to represent all the English articu-
lations. Thus : we have 12 forms of articulative action, most
of which do, and all of which may, modify both voice and breath;
so producing 24 elements of speech. Let some uniform change
to represent breath and voice be made on each of the 12 charac-
ters, and these 24 varieties of articulate sound may be not only
fully represented, but with a natural analogy and consistency,
which would explain to the eye their prganic relations.
A further uniform change made oa those letters which have a
nasal correspondent would complete the scheme, and, with perfect
analogy between marks and sounds, exhibit, by 12 radical letters,
every articulation in our language.
Some equally simple and analogical notation might be arranged
for the vowels, on the principle of their sequence, so that a really
Scientific Alphabet could be easily constructed.
A system of Phonotypes, or letters representing sounds, has re-
cently been constructed by the Author of the Phonographic method
of short-hand writing. In this generally excellent typography,
several works have been published ; and from the great similarity of
the characters to those in ordinary use, the " phonotypic*' page is
quite readable after a mere glance at the alphabet, by those who can
read the conunon printing. But this system of letters, though a
great improvement on our ordinary alphabet, does not carry im-
provement beyond supplying deficient letters, and discarding re-
dundant ones. K ever a change in our orthography should be
generally and authoritatively made, we should like to see it based
on an alphabet as perfect a picture of our sounds as science and
ingenuity could produce. We have shown a principle by means
of which the formation of such an alphabet would be an easy
matter.
Mr Pitman's ^phonographic scheme of marks is much more
scientific than the alphabet of phonotypes ; but even the former
iS) — for the purposes of accurate notation^ — &r short of what a
more intimate knowledge of the vocal mechanisms should have
made it. In a system of writing by sound, there must be a very
accurate appreciation of sound, and a faultless principiation of
language. In both these respects, this phonographic system is
somewhat defective.
We propose to present the reader with the elements of a new
system of phonography, based on the analysis of speech detailed
in the preceding pages. Our object, in the construction of this
214 NOTATION OF THE ELEMENTS OF SPEECH.
acbeme of wilting, has uot been to produce a riyal system for the
sake of rivalry, but to furnish a means of fixing in the memoiy ol
oar students the fundamental principles of speech. We use it
mnemonically ; and we commend its study, on the same principle,
to the reader.
But we must, in justice, point out what we conceive td be the
defects of Mr Pitman's Phonography, in order to show that, for
our purpose, a new system was really necessary. This we do the
rather that it gives opportunity for noticing some general errers
of elementary classification, more fully than could have been ap-
propriately done in any other section.
The vowels are classed on a most erroneoiis theory, — i(fi) being reckoned
the diort soand of ee(\) ; «(ll) the short sound of aQe)^ <x(n>) the shcHt soond
of a(lm8) ; and u(p) the short sonnd of a(pe). Trae pAoTiography oannot re-
cognise sucli longs and shorts. Quantify must have referenoe only to iderUical
qualities of sound. But it is maintuned by the author of this system that these
pairs of vowels, axQ" of the same quality^ differing only in iengtkJ" Tlusef
course is a question to be decided by the ear ; and any competent ear win at
once decide it by the experiment recommended by Mr Fitmaoy* — but with a
veiy different result. When we read^ however, that the voweb e, a, oA, oii^ o, oo,
with ^ the sound uh heard in the French Ui ne, &C.9*' are> ^ all the smgle voweb
that are to be found in any language,** we may justly suspect a want of anri-
cular aptitude on the part of the writer, as well as ignorance of the prindploi of
vowel meohamsm.t Either such must be the case, or dse we have been dabor-
ating a theory of shadows, — ^^ airy nothings,** and have been. groMiy abased
by our ears into the belief that our own experiments had produced iqmaids
* ^ There is a difficulty in convincing some persons that the vowel in
is of the same quality as that in sick^ dmering only in kngih ; and so with all
the long and short vowels as here placed ; but particularly is this difficnl^ tt
with No. 5, (as m ^ cote, cttt.**) They may, however, have andible ]m)of that
it is so, by pronouncing the words in the first column, (teeXr, pate^ peabnyUeBi^
cote, fool, J quickly, and they will hear the words of the second column, feick,
petf Mam, stock-, cut,fiiU;) also if the words in the second column are spoinii
in a 9I0W drawling tone, the words in the first c(dumn will be heard : ^Stam,
eeek-i quickly spoken, will become side, and iSpet be uttered slowly, iiote wfil be
produced ; and so with all the others.** — PrrMAN*s PHONOORAPnT, 8vo. 1840^
p. 23. Reader, if you fed that you have an ear, try this experiment I
t In a recent, and certainly amended Edition of the work fiom which we have
quoted in the note, we find that the theory so pertinadously laid down, has
been given up as erroneous. The e:q>eriment seems to have been tried by
aouter ears than those of its suggester. We read now : —
" In all cases except the 4th and 6th, j^^eTood', *^ P<«tion fix the
short vowel is slightly different from the position required for the correqKmding
long vowel.** — ^Manual of Phonographt, 1848.
NOTATION OF THE ELEMENTS OF SPEECH. 215
of 20 Tarieties jof vowel sound, oognisable as elements of existing languages
and dialects.
A phonographic writer should be able to ddineate on his page the very
peculiarities of a speaker's pronundation ; but Hm system does not enable him
to express eren those manifest ^fferenoes that exist between the utterance of a
correct English speaker and the yeinacular English of a Scotchman. He must,
for instaUoe, write alike their different pronundations of such words BB/air^
tJierCj * more^ door^ &c. He hM no means of noting a difference between the
sounds in er and ur,— i^which is imquestionablj a distinctiye elegance in polite
En^ish utterance,— and so must write i^ervade and purvey^ alike,[vtrtue vir-
tue, and ^V sur: and he has no choice between a(m) and a(]ms), for writing
the intermediate vowel heard in ask^ fast, &c.
The plan of writing long vowels by heavy marks, and short vowels by light
ones, is good ; but we must have a character independent of that of quantity for
every variety of vowel formation. A quantitative distinction is only necessary
for two vowels in our language.
But if there were no more serious objections to this Phonographic system
than its errors in vowel-theory and representation, these would hardly afford
sufficient reason for the construction of a new system, because the use of a
merely general vowel mark to show where a vowel occurs rather than precisely
what vowel it is, would suffice for ordinaiy short-hand notation to those who
are acquainted with the language which they write. But the articulations also are
arranged on false principles ; and errors in their representation are much more
serious than those in the scheme of vowel-marks.
The articulations are classed under the four heads of mutes, semivowels,
liquids, and nasals. In the first dass are induded with the breath letters P,
T, E, their voice correspondents B, D, 6, and also the combinations Ch«stsh, and
J»=dzh. If these letters are mu/e»— our speech must be, nearly half of it, mere
dumb show. The semi-vowel category indudes with the vocal elements V,
ThCis), Z, Zby their breath correspondents F, Th(in), S, Sh. If the former set
were entitled to the name ^^semi-vowd," — ^which they are not— -the hitter could
not certainly claim anything more tlian that of ^^ demz-semi-vow€ls*^m^jor per-
haps << semi'demi-semi-vowelSf'^ terms that would be fully as expressive of the
real qualities of the sounds as the one appropriated to them. << What's in a
name ?" may well be asked, if names with nothing in them serve the purposes of
nomenclature. The dass " liquids" contains only L and R ; the letters M, N^
and NO, which are also liquids, if that name expresses anything, bdng separately
classed as simply " nasals.*'
The " mutes" and " semi-vowkls " are subdivided into " sJiarps " and
^^Jiats,^^ — terms equally expressive with those attached to the leading divisions ;
— ^but the student is not told to which of these classes the ^^ liquids''* and
* The difference between the sound of a, as in mate and mare, is recognised,
but not {Hrovided for, in a note (p. 39) in the last quoted edition of the Manual
of Phonography,
216 NOTATION OF THE ELEMENTS OF SPEECH.
«
nasals'^ belong. He should of cotine discover ihis from the cfaanusfter bj
which he is to represent these sounds. Bat this will mislead him ; finr tbe ex-
cellent principle of distinction between breath and voice letters, whidi is the best
and newest point m Hm phonographic system, is not connstentlj applied to the
elements of the last two classes. The ^* Uquids^* and ** nasiUs'' are all voioe
letter (" flats") ; jet only one of them, — ^namely, ng, is written in the voice
character. N and ng are represented by the same maxk, — ^the former thin (the
sharp notation), the latter thick (the flat notation), so that the scheme of arti-
culate symbols misinforms the eye that as B is to P, V to F, Z to S, &c.^ so is
n^ to N I This is one of the errors resnlting from an arintraiy arrangement of
maiks, and the neglect of a natural principle of association.
One of the most serious errors in Pitman's Phonography, both as regards its
fundamental prindinataon of speech, and its stenographic sunplicity, remains to
be noticed.
The articulative frmction of the letters Y and W is not recognised. These
elements are considered to be always vowels — vowels only. The result is, that
this lack of characters to represent two articulations has to be supplied, and is
suppliedyby no less than 40 symbols, to denote thdr combinations with difierent
vowels. The cumbersome result of such a theory, one would have expected to
operate to its rejection, even were it more correct ; but it is clearly ernmeoos.
Let its author, and all who think with him in this matter, test it in the words
ye and woo^ which^ according to this theory, are nothing else than the repeated
vowel ee ee and oo oo. Experiment will prove, that the most rafnd utteranoe
of two ee\ without any intermediate action of the tongue, will never produce
the word ye ; and that without a similar action of the lips between the two oo's,
the word woo cannot possibly be sounded. If, tlien, ye and woo cannot be pro-
nounced with the mouth steadily maintained in the vowel positions ee and oOf
the initial elements of the words are not vowels but articulations.
The absence of an articulative Y leads to the writing of vulgarisms^ and the
corruption of utterance, in such words b& future^ nature^ education^ S^c,^ which
are written with tsh and dzh^ instead of ty and dy ; thus, ^' f uchr," *' S j uka-
shn,'' &c. Colloquial carelessness does certainly convert the nice articula-
tions ty and dy into the more slovenly tsh and dzh ; but the former are un-
doubtedly the elements heard in the correct utteranoe of this class of words;
and surely the best pronunciation should always — ^unless for imitative poiposes
— ^be reflected in writing.
As there is no articulation w in this system, there is of course no wh ; and
this breath articulation is considered to be identical in sound with the word
ti7Ao=ssA2£;=hoo. Thus, the sentence, ^' / saw the man whet the knife^ is
phonographically (?) perverted into the rather startling assertion* ^^ / saw the
man who ate the knifed Let the most glib upholder of this theoiy — for it
is not confined to the system under review — ^pronounce the latter sentence as
rapidly as he can, and see if he will ever make it express the former. Yet it
should do so by the mere accident of abruptness, if the theory were contct.
NOTATION OF THE ELEMENTS OF SPEECH. 217
We should not have adverted to the errors in this generally
excellent system, or noticed it in any terms except of commen-
dation, but for the influence which we conceive it may exert, not
only on writing, but on speech ; the good, if correct ; the injury —
so far as speech is concerned, — if incorrect in its articulative bases.
We should be glad to see a system of writing sounds popularly
studied, and brought into general use, were it only for the benefit
that must result to popular articulation. We look upon Pho-
nography as a most valuable auxiliary in teaching the Art of
Speech ; and our object in treating of it in this work is, that we
™^J9 ^7 its aid, advance popular knowledge on the subject of
speech. We should anticipate great good, — not to articulation
alone, but to the general interests of language and education, —
if every boy in our schools were a phonographer. He would then
be capable of correctly analyzing speech ; a process which, in the
present state of knowledge that prevails on this subject, we have
often seen baffle the efforts of older and wiser linguists, even in
the most simple of our verbal combinations.
The following are the Principles on which we have constructed
our Phonographic Scheme. The attentive perusal of them will
enable any person, almost at once, to use our
ALPHABET OF ARTICULATIONS.
ORGANS EMPLOYED.
I. All articulations of the lips are written in a slanting direc-
tion from right tc left
II. All articulations of the back or root of the tongue are writ-
ten slantingly from left to right,
III. All articulations of the point of the tongue acting upwards,
are written perpendicularly.
IV. The sibilant and lisping sounds, in forming which the tongue
lies nearly horizontal, are written horizontaUy^
MODES OF ACTION.
V. All Obstructive articulations, — i,e, those formed by perfect
contact of the organs — (the First Mode of Action) — are represented
by straight lines.
VI. Nasal quality is denoted by a ring; and^ as the Nasals are
orally obstructive by the same articulative mechanisms as the pre-
ceding elements, the nostril-ring is written with a short straight
mark, which, by its line of direction, shows the obstructive forma-
tion, of which the ring denotes the nasal correspondent.
E e
216 NOTATION OF THE ELEMENTS OF SPEECH.
«
nasals'^ belong. He should of ootine disoover tlib from the character bjr
which he is to represent these sounds. Bat this will mislead him ; for the ex-
cellent principle of distinction between breath and voice letters, whidi is the best
and newest pdnt in this phonographic system, is not consistently applied to the
elements of the last two classes. The ^* liquids" and ^^ nasals" are aU voioe
letter (" flats") ; yet only one of them, — ^namely, kg, is written in the voice
character. N and ng are represented by the same mark, — ^the former thin (the
sharp notation), the latter thick (the flat notation), so that the scheme of arti-
culate symbols misinforms the eye that as B is to P, V to F, Z to S, &c, so is
n^ to N I This is one of the errors resulting from an aiintrary arrangement of
marks, and the neglect of a natural principle of association.
One of the most serious errors in Pitman's Phonography, both aa regards its
fundamental principiation of speech, and its stenographic simplicily, remains to
be noticed.
The artictilative function of the letters T and W is not recognised. These
elements are considered to be always vowels — vowels only. The result is, that
this lack of characters to represent two articulations has to be supplied, and is
supplied^by no less than 40 symbols, to denote their combinations with different
vowels. The cumbersome result of such a theory, one would have expected to
operate to its rejection, even were it more correct ; but it is clearly ernmeons.
Let its author, and all who think with him in this matter, test it in the words
ye and woo, which^ aocordmg to this theory, are nothing else than the repeated
vowel ee ee and oo oo. Experiment will prove, that the most rafnd utterance
of two ee\ without any intermediate action of the tongue, will never produce
the word ye ; and that without a similar action of the lips between the two oo's,
the word woo cannot possibly be sounded. If, then, ye and woo cannot be pro-
nounced with the mouth steadily maintained in the vowel positiona ee and oo,
the initial elements of the words are not vowels but articulations.
The absence of an articulative T leads to the writing of vulgarisms^ and the
corruption of utterance, in such words a& future, nature, education, S^c, which
are written witii tsh and dzh, instead of ty and dy ; thus, ^' f uchr," '^ S j uka-
shn," &c. Colloquial carelessness does certainly convert the nice articula-
tions ty and dy into the more slovenly tsh and dzh ; but the former are un-
doubtedly the elements heard in the correct utterance of this class of words;
and surely the best pronunciation should always — ^unless for imitative porposes
— be reflected in writing.
As there is no articulation w in this system, there is of course no wh ; and
this breath articulation is considered to be identical in sound with the word
who=hw^==:hoo. Thus, the sentence, ^^ / saw the man whet the hnife^^ is
phonographically (?) perverted into the rather startling assertion, ^* / ^010 the
man who ate the knifeJ'^ Let the most glib upholder of this the<»7 — for it
is not confined to the system under review — ^pronounce the latter sentence as
rapidly as he can, and see if he will ever make it express the former. Yet it
ghonld do so by tiie mere accident of abruptness, if the theory were correct.
NOTATION OF THE ELEMENTS OF SPEECH. 217
We should not have adverted to the errors in this generally
excellent system, or noticed it in any terms except of commen-
dation, but for the influence which we conceive it may exert, not
only on writing, but on speech ; the good, if correct ; the injury —
so far as speech is concerned, — if incorrect in its articulative bases.
We should be glad to see a system of toriting sounds popularly
studied, and brought into general use, were it only for the benefit
that must result to popular articulation. We look upon Pho-
nography as a most valuable auxiliary in teaching the Art of
Speech ; and our object in treating of it in this work is, that we
™^J9 ^7 its aid, advance popular knowledge on the subject of
speech. We should anticipate great good, — not to articulation
alone, but to the general interests of language and education, —
if every boy in our schools were a phonographer. He would then
be capable of correctly analyzing speech ; a process which, in the
present state of knowledge that prevails on this subject, we have
often seen baffle the efforts of older and wiser linguists, even in
the most simple of our verbal combinations.
The following are the Principles on which we have constructed
our Phonographic Scheme. The attentive perusal of them will
enable any person, almost at once, to use our
ALPHABET OF ARTICULATIONS.
ORGANS EMPLOYED.
I. All articidations of the lips are written in a slanting direc-
tion from right to left.
II. All articulations of the hack or root of the tongue are writ-
ten slantingly from left to right,
III. All articulations of the point of the tongue acting upwards,
are written perpendicularly.
IV. The sibilant 9xA lisping sounds, in forming which the tongue
lies nearly horizontal, are written horizontaUy^
MODES OF ACTION.
V. All Obstructive articulations, — i.e. those formed by perfect
contact of the organs — (the First Mode of Action) — are represented
by straight lines.
VI. Nasal quality is denoted by a ring; and, as the Nasals are
orally obstructive by the same articulative mechanisms as the pre-
ceding elements, the nostril-ring is written with a short straight
mark, which, by its line of direction, shows the obstructive forma-
tion, of which the ring denotes the nasal correspondent.
E e
216 NOTATION OF THE ELEMENTS OF SPEECH.
** nasals'^ belong. He should of ootine disoover tliis from the character by
which he is to represent these sounds. Bat ttus will mislead him ; for tlno ex-
cellent principle of distinction between breath and voice letters, whldi is the best
and newest pcnnt in this phonographic system, is not consistently applied to the
elements of the last two classes. The ^* liquids" and *^ nasals" are all voioe
letter (" flats") ; yet only one of them, — ^namely, kg, is written in the voioe
character. N and ng are represented by the same maris, — the formw thin (the
sharp notation), the latter thick (the flat notation), so that the scheme of arti-
culate symbols mianforms the eye that asBistoP, VtoF^ZtoS, &c, so is
n^ to N ! This is one of the errors resulting from an arintrary arrangement of
marks, and the neglect of a natural principle of association.
One of the most serious errors in Pitman's Phonography, both aa regards its
fundamental principation of speech, and its stenographic simplicity, remains to
be noticed.
The articulative function of the letters T and W is not recognised. These
elements are considered to be always vowels — vowels only. The result is, that
this lack of characters to represent two articulations has to be supplied, and is
supplied^by no less than 40 symbols, to denote their combinations with different
vowels. The cumbersome result of such a theory, one would have expected to
operate to its rejection, even were it more correct ; but it is clearly ernmeoos.
Let its author, and all who think with him in this matter, test it in the words
ye and t&oo, which^ aocordmg to this theory, are nothing else than the repeated
vowel ee ee and oo oo. Experiment will prove, that the most rapid utterance
of two ee\ without any intermediate action of the tongue, will never produce
the word ye ; and that without a similar action of the lips between the two oo's,
the word woo cannot possibly be sounded. If, then, ye and woo cannot be pro-
nounced with the mouth steadily maintained in the vowel positiona ee and oo,
the initial elements of the words are not vowels but articulations.
The absence of an articulative T leads to the writing of vulgarisms^ and the
corruption of utterance, in such words 2a future, nature, education, S^c,^ which
are written with tsh and dzh, instead of ty and dy ; thus, ^^ f uchr," '^ S j uka-
shn," &c. Ck>lloquial carelessness does certainly convert the nice artieola''
tions ty and dy into the more slovenly tsh and dzh ; but the former are un-
doubtedly the elements heard in the correct utterance of this daas of words ;
and surely the best pronunciation should always — ^unless for imitative purposes
— ^be reflected in writing.
As there is no articulation w in this system, there is of course no wh ; and
this breath articulation is considered to be identical in sound with the word
ioho=hw==^hoo. Thus, the sentence, ** I saw the man whbt the knife^^ is
phonographically (?) perverted into the rather startling assertion, ^* / saw the
man who ate the knifed'* Let the most glib upholder of this the<»7 — for it
is not confined to the system under review — ^pronounce the latter sentence as
rapidly as he can, and see if he will ever make it express the former. Yet it
should do so by the mere accident of abruptness, if the theory were correct.
NOTATION OF THE ELEMENTS OF SPEECH. 217
We should not have adverted to the errors in this generally
excellent system, or noticed it in any terms except of commen-
dation, but for the influence which we conceive it may exert, not
only on writing, but on speech ; the good, if correct ; the injury —
so far as speech is concerned, — if incorrect in its articulative bases.
We should be glad to see a system of writing sounds popularly
studied, and brought into general use, were it only for the benefit
that must result to popular articulation. We look upon Pho-
nography as a most valuable auxiliary in teaching the Art of
Speech ; and our object in treating of it in this work is, that we
niay, by its aid, advance popular knowledge on the subject of
speech. We should anticipate great good, — not to articulation
alone, but to the general interests of language and education, —
if every boy in our schools were a phonographer. He would then
be capable of correctly analyzing speech ; a process which, in the
present state of knowledge that prevails on this subject, we have
often seen baffle the efforts of older and wiser linguists, even in
the most simple of our verbal combinations.
The following are the Principles on which we have constructed
our Phonographic Scheme. The attentive perusal of them will
enable any person, almost at once, to use our
ALPHABET OF ARTICULATIONS.
ORGANS EMPLOYED.
I. All articidations of the lips are written in a slanting direc-
tion from right to left,
II. All articulations of the hack or root of the tongue are writ-
ten slantingly from left to right,
III. All articulations of the j>oin« of the tongue dieting upwards,
are written perpendicularly,
IV. The si6i?an«and lisping sounds, in forming which the tongue
lies nearly horizontal, are written horizontaUt^
MODES OF ACTION.
V. All Obstructive articulations, — Le. those formed by perfect
contact of the organs — (the First Mode of Action) — are represented
by straight lines,
VI. Nasal quality is denoted by a ring; and, as the Nasals are
orally obstructive by the same articulative mechanisms as the pre-
ceding elements, the nostril-ring is written with a short straight
mark, which, by its line of direction, shows the obstructive forma-
tion, of which the ring denotes the nasal correspondent.
E e
216 NOTATION OF THE ELEMENTS OF SPEECH.
<* nasals^^ belong. He should of ootine disoover this from the character bjr
which he is to represent these sounds. But this will mislead him ; for tlMB ex-
cellent principle of distinction between breath and voice letters, whidi is the best
and newest pdnt in this phonographic system, is not consistently applied to the
elements of the last two classes. The ^^ liquids" and *^ nasals'* are aU voioe
letter (** flats") ; yet only one of them, — ^namely, kg, is written in the voioe
character. N and ng are represented by the same mark, — ^the former thin (the
sharp notation), the latter thick (the flat notation), so that the scheme of arti-
culate symbols misinforms the eye that asBistoP, VtoF, ZtoS, &c, so is
n^ to N ! This is one of the errors resulting from an aiintrary arrangement of
marks, and the neglect of a natural principle of association.
One of the most serious errors in Pitman's Phonography, both aa regards its
fundamental principation of speech, and its stenographic simplicity, remains to
be noticed.
The artictUative function of the letters T and W is not recognised. These
elements are considered to be always vowels — vowels only. The result is, that
this lack of characters to represent two articulations has to be supplied, and is
suppliedyby no less than 40 symbols, to denote their combinations with diflferent
vowels. The cumbersome result of such a theory, one would have expected to
operate to its rejection, even were it more correct ; but it is clearly ernmeons.
Let its author, and all who think with him in this matter, test it in the words
ye and t&oo, which^ according to this theory, are nothing else than the repeated
vowel ee ee and oo oo. Experiment will prove, that the most ra{Md utterance
of two ee's, without any intermediate action of the tongue, will never produce
the word ye ; and that without a similar action of the lips between the two oo's,
the word woo cannot posdbly be sounded. If, then, ye and woo cannot be pro-
nounced with the month steadily maintained in the vowel positiona ee and oo^
the initial elements of the words are not vowels but articulations.
The absence of an articulative T leads to the writing of vulgarisms^ and the
corruption of utterance, in such words a&future, nature, educalion, ^c, which
are written with tsh and dzh, instead of ty and dy ; thus, *' f uchr,'' '* S j uka-
shn," &c. Ck>lloquial carelessness does certainly convert the nice artieola-
tions ty and dy into the more slovenly tsh and dzh ; but the farmer are un-
doubtedly the elements heard in the correct utterance of this dasa of words ;
and surely the best pronunciation should always — ^unless for imitative purposes
— ^be reflected in writmg.
As there is no articulation w in this system, there is of course no wk ; and
this breath articulation is considered to be identical in sound with the word
2i7^bs^t&=hoo. Thus, the sentence, " / saw the man whet the knife^^ is
phonographically (?) perverted into the rather startling assertion, ^^ / ^010 the
man who ate the knife,^^ Let the most glib upholder of this the<»7--fi)r it
is not confined to the system under review — ^pronounce the latter sentence as
rapidly as he can, and see if he will ever make it express the former. Yet it
should do 80 by the mere accident of abruptness, if the theory were correct.
NOTATION OF THE ELEMENTS OF SPEECH. 217
We should not have adverted to the errors in this generally
excellent system, or noticed it in any terms except of commen-
dation, but for the influence which we conceive it may exert, not
only on writing, but on speech ; the good, if correct ; the injury —
so far as speech is concerned,— if incorrect in its articulative bases.
We should be glad to see a system of writing sounds popularly
studied, and brought into general use, were it only for the benefit
that must result to popular articulation. We look upon Pho-
nography as a most valuable auxiliary in teaching the Art of
Speech ; and our object in treating of it in this work is, that we
™^J9 ^J its aid, advance popular knowledge on the subject of
speech. We should anticipate great good, — not to articulation
alone, but to the general interests of language and education, —
if every boy in our schools were a phonographer. He would then
be capable of correctly analyzing speech ; a process which, in the
present state of knowledge that prevails on this subject, we have
often seen baffle the efforts of older and wiser linguists, even in
the most simple of our verbal combinations.
The following are the Principles on which we have constructed
our Phonographic Scheme. The attentive perusal of them will
enable any person, almost at once, to use our
ALPHABET OF ARTICULATIONS.
ORGANS EMPLOYED.
I. All articidations of the lips are written in a slanting direc-
tion from right to left,
II. All articulations of the hack or root of the tongtte are writ-
ten slantingly from left to right,
III. All articulations of the point of the tongue dieting upwards,
are written perpendicularly,
IV. The sibilant B,nd lisping sounds, in forming which the tongue
lies nearly horizontal, are written horizontaUtf^
MODES OF ACTION.
V. All Obstructive articulations, — t.e. those formed by perfect
contact of the organs — (the First Mode of Action) — are represented
by straight lines,
VI. Nasal quality is denoted by a ring; and^ as the Nasals are
orally obstructive by the same articulative mechanisms as the pre-
ceding elements, the nostril-ring is written with a short straight
mark, which, by its line of direction, shows the obstructive forma-
tion, of which the ring denotes the nasal correspondent.
E e
216 NOTATION OF THE ELEMENTS OF SPEECH.
«
nasals^^ belong. He should of ootine disoover thb from tlie character bjr
which he is to represent these sounds. But this will mislead him ; for IIkb ex-
cellent principle of distinction between breath and voice letters, whidi is the best
and newest pdnt in this phonographic system, is not conmstently applied to the
elements of the last two classes. The ^* liquids" and *^ nasals*' are aU voioe
letter (*< flats*') ; yet only one of them, — ^namely, kg, is written in the voioe
character. N and ng are represented by the same maris, — the former thin (the
sharp notation), the latter thick (the flat notation), so that the scheme of arti-
culate symbols misinforms the eye that as B is to P, V to F, Z to S, &c, so is
n^ to N ! This is one of the errors resulting from an aiintrary arrangement of
mariut, and the neglect of a natural principle <^ association.
One of the most serious errors in Pitman's Phonography, both aa regards its
fundamental principiation of speech, and its stenographic simplicity, remains to
be noticed.
The articulative function of the letters T and W is not recognised. These
elements are considered to be always vowels — vowels only. The result is, that
this lack of characters to represent two articulations has to be supplied, and is
suppliedyby no less than 40 symbols, to denote their combinations with different
vowels. The cumbersome result of such a theory, one would have expected to
operate to its rejection, even were it more correct ; but it is clearly erroneous.
Let its author, and all who think with him in this matter, test it in the words
ye and woo^ which^ according to this theory, are nothing else than the repeated
vowel ee ee and oo oo. Experiment will prove, that the most ra{Hd utterance
of two ee\ without any intermediate action of the tongue, will never produce
the word ye ; and that \rithout a similar action of the lips between the two oo's,
the word woo cannot possibly be sounded. If, then, ye and woo cannot be pro-
nounced with the mouth steadily maintained in the vowel positiona ee and oo^
the initial elements of the words are not vowels but articulations.
The absence of an articulative T leads to the writing of vulgariusms^ and the
corruption of utterance, in such words 9a future^ nature^ education^ ^c, which
are written with tsh and dzh^ instead of ty and dy ; thus, ^' f uchr,'* '* S j iika-
shn," &c. Colloquial carelessness does certainly convert the nice arti6o]a«
tions ty and dy into the more slovenly tsh and dzh ; but the farmer are un-
doubtedly the elements heard in the correct utterance of this class of words ;
and surely the best pronunciation should always — unless for imitative purposes
— ^be reflected in writing.
As there is no articulation w in this system, there is of course no wh ; and
this breath articulation is considered to be identical in sound with the word
who^=^htiy=^oo. Thus, the sentence, " / saw the man whet the knife^^ is
phonographicaUy (?) perverted into the rather startling assertion, ^* / saw the
man who ate the knifed Let the most glib upholder of this the(»7 — for it
is not confined to the system under review — ^pronounce the latter sentence as
rapidly as he can, and see if he will ever make it express the former. Yet it
should do so by the mere accident of abruptness, if the theory were oorreet.
NOTATION OF THE ELEMENTS OF SPEECH. 217
We should not have adverted to the errors in this generallj
excellent system, or noticed it in any terms except of commen-
dation, but for the influence which we conceive it may exert, not
only on writing, but on speech ; the good, if correct ; the injury —
so far as speech is concerned,— if incorrect in its articulative bases.
We should be glad to see a system of rvriting sounds popularly
studied, and brought into general use, were it only for the benefit
that must result to popular articulation. We look upon Pho-
nography as a most valuable auxiliary in teaching the Art of
Speech ; and our object in treating of it in this work is, that we
^^7? ^7 its aid, advance popular knowledge on the subject of
speech. We should anticipate great good, — not to articulation
alone, but to the general interests of language and education, —
if every boy in our schools were a phonographer. He would then
be capable of correctly analyzing speech ; a process which, in the
present state of knowledge that prevails on this subject, we have
often seen baffle the efforts of older and wiser linguists, even in
the most simple of our verbal combinations.
The following are the Principles on which we have constructed
our Phonographic Scheme. The attentive perusal of them will
enable any person, almost at once, to use our
ALPHABET OF ARTICULATIONS.
ORGANS EMPLOYED.
I. All articidations of the lips are written in a slanting direc-
tion from fight to left,
II. All articulations of the hack or root of the tongue are writ-
ten slantingly from left to right,
III. All articulations of the point of the tongue dieting upwards,
are written perpendicularly.
IV. The si6i^n« and lisping sounds, in forming which the tongue
lies nearly horizontal, are written horizontaUy^
MODES OF ACTION.
V. All Obstructive articulations, — t.e. those formed by perfect
contact of the organs — (the First Mode of Action) — ^are represented
by straight lines,
VI. Nasal quality is denoted by a ring; and, as the Nasals are
orally obstructive by the same articulative mechanisms as the pre-
ceding elements, the nostril^ing is written with a short straight
mark, which, by its line of direction, shows the obstructive forma-
tion, of which the ring denotes the nasal correspondent.
E e
216 NOTATION OF THE ELEMENTS OF SPEECH.
«
nasals^^ belong. He should of course disoover this from the character bjr
which he is to represent these sounds. But this will mislead him ; for tlKB ex-
cellent principle of distinction between breath and voice letters, whidi is the best
and newest pcnnt in this phonographic system, is not consistently applied to the
elements of the last two classes. The ^* liquids^^ and *^ nasals*' are aU voioe
letter (*< flats*') ; yet only one of them, — ^namely, kg, is written in the vdoe
character. N and ng are represented by the same mark, — the former thin (the
sharp notation), the latter thick (the flat notation), so that the scheme of arti-
culate symbols misinforms the eye that as B is to P, V to F, Z to S, &c., so is
n^ to N I This is one of the errors resulting from an aiintrary arrangement of
marks, and the neglect of a natural principle of association.
One of the most serious errors in Pitman's Phonogn^hy, both aa regards its
fundamental principiation of speech, and its stenographic simplicity, remains to
be noticed.
The articulative function of the letters T and W is not recognised. These
elements are considered to be always vowek — ^vowels only. The result is, that
this lack of characters to represent two articulations has to be supplied, and is
suppliedyby no less than 40 symbols, to denote their combinations with different
Towels. The cumbersome result of such a theory, one would have expected to
operate to its rejection, even were it more correct ; but it is clearly erroneous.
Let its author, and all who think with him in this matter, test it in the words
ye and woo^ which^ aocordmg to this theory, are nothing else than the repeated
vowel ee ee and oo oo. Experiment will prove, that the most ra{Hd utterance
of two ee\ without any intermediate action of the tongue, will never produce
the word ye ; and that without a sunilar action of the lips between the two oo's,
the word woo cannot possibly be sounded. If, then, ye and woo cannot be pro-
nounced with the mouth steadily maintained in the vowel positiona ee and oo,
the initial elements of the words are not vowels but articulations.
The absence of an articulative T leads to the writing of vulgarisms^ and the
corruption of utterance, in such words as future, nature, education^ S^c^ which
are written witli tsh and <M, instead of ty and dy ; thus, *' f uchr,'* '* S j uka-
shn," &c. Ck>lloquial carelessness does certainly convert the nice arti6o]a«
tions ty and dy into the more slovenly tsh and dzh ; but the former are un-
doubtedly the elements heard in the correct utterance of this class of words ;
and surely the best pronunciation should always — ^unless for imitative pmposes
— ^be reflected in writing.
As there is no articulation w in this system, there is of course no wh ; and
this breath articulation \a considered to be identical in sound with the word
2i7Aoss^ti;=rhoo. Thus, the sentence, ^* I saw the man whet the kni/e^ is
phonographically (?) perverted into the rather startling assertiont ^^ / saw the
man who ate the knife.^^ Let the most glib upholder of this theory — ^for it
is not confined to the system under review — ^pronounce the latter sentence as
rapidly as he can, and see if he will ever make it express the former. Yet it
should do 80 by the mere accident of abruptness, if the theory were corr^.
NOTATION OF THE ELEMENTS OF SPEECH. 217
We should not have adverted to the errors ia this generallj
excellent system, or noticed it in any terms except of commen-
dation, but for the influence which we conceive it may exert, not
only on writing, but on speech ; the good, if correct ; the injury —
so far as speech is concerned, — if incorrect in its articulative bases.
We should be glad to see a system of writing sounds popularly
studied, and brought into general use, were it only for the benefit
that must result to popular articulation. We look upon Pho-
nography as a most valuable auxiliary in teaching the Art of
Speech ; and our object in treating of it in this work is, that we
inS'J? l>y its aid, advance popular knowledge on the subject of
speech. We should anticipate great good, — not to articulation
alone, but to the general interests of language and education, —
if every boy in our schools were a phonographer. He would then
be capable of correctly analyzing speech ; a process which, in the
present state of knowledge that prevails on this subject, we have
often seen baffle the efforts of older and wiser linguists, even in
the most simple of our verbal combinations.
The following are the Principles on which we have constructed
our Phonographic Scheme. The attentive perusal of them will
enable any person, almost at once, to use our
ALPHABET OF ARTICULATIONS.
ORGANS EMPLOYED.
I. All articidations of the lips are written in a slanting direc-
tion from right to left.
II. All articulations of the hack or root of the tongue are writ-
ten slantingly from left to right,
III. All articulations of the point of the tongue acting upwards,
are written perpendicularly,
IV. The sibilant a,nd lisping sounds, in forming which the tongue
lies nearly horizontal, are written horizontaUy%
MODES OF ACTION.
V. All Obstructive articulations, — i.e. those formed by perfect
contact of the organs ^the First Mode of Action) — are represented
by straight lines.
VI. Nasal quality is denoted by a ring; and^ as the Nasals are
orally obstructive by the same articulative mechanisms as the pre-
ceding elements, the nostril-ring is written with a short straight
mark, which, by its line of direction, shows the obstructive forma-
tion, of which the ring denotes the nasal correspondent.
£ e
328 ACCENT.
The secondary accent is, in all the preceding instances, se-
parated from the primary, by the intervention of one or two unac-
cented syllables ; but there may be a secondarily accented force
on a syllable which is not separated from the primary. The
discriminating ear will at once detect the presence of a secondary
accent on the negative prefixes in the following lines, if express-
ively read :
" He sinks into thy depths with bubbling groan,
Without a grave, un'knelled", un'cof 'fined, and wn'known"."
** The wretch, concentred all in self.
Living, shall forfeit fair renown,
And, doubly dying, shall go down
To the vile dust from whence he sprung,
CTh'wept, un'hon"oured, and wn'sung" !
In these cases, the primary accent immediately follows the
secondary ; and such accentuation is not confined to words with
negative prefixes, but any prefix may receive empbatical import-
ance in the same way, — as co'-e"qual, con'join", de'hort", e'duce",
il'le"gal, im'mense" ! pan'soph"ical, pre'mer"it, re'-ech"o, &c. We
have the same accentuation in the common unlexiconed words,
so' -so", tee'-to"tal, &c. ; and the word amen, which is universally
acknowledged as a doubly accented word, has not two equal
accents, but a secondary and primary, thus, a'men". The word
farewell, also, has two accents in its ordinary utterance, — the
primary accent sometimes on the first and sometimes on the
second syllable.
When words differing only, or chiefly, in one of their syllables,
are antithetic, the emphasis of opposition is expressed by trans-
position of the accent to the syllable of difference. Thus instead
of forgiv'ing, forbear'ing, injus'tice, undone', &c., we say
/o/giving when opposed to giving
/or'bearing " bearing
injustice " justice
un'done " done, &c.
When the opposition is between two prefixes otherwise unac-
cented, they take the primary force, and the ordinarily accented
syllable retains a secondary accent, — as in
in"crease' when opposed to de"crease'
pro"ceed' " pre"cede'
e'Volve' " re'Volve'
RHYTHM. 229
pro'la'tion when opposed to pre'la'tion
im"pul'sion " ex^pul'sion
ex"te'rior " in^te'rior, &c.
And so in antithetic termination we might give them the
primary accent, and mark the ordinarily accented syllable by
secondary force, — thus :
prin'ciple" when opposed to prin'cipal"
sym'bol" " Cymbal"
When the syllable of difference happens to be under the
secondary accent, we mark antithesis by giving it the primary,
and transferring the secondary accent to the regular place of the
primary. Thus, we say
prop"osi'tion when opposed to prep"osi'tion
al'locu'tion " er'ocu'tion
prob"abi'Uty " plau"sibi'lity.
In practising the foregoing tables of variously accented words,
the student would find it useful to heat time to his utterance, by
making a downward stroke of the hand on each accent. This
will lead him to distinguish the more clearly, accented from un-
accented syllables by his voice ; and it wiU serve, far better than
any explanation we could give, to manifest the accentual differ-
ences to those whose ears do not readily apprehend them. In this
way the possibility — ^if it be disputed — of the secondary accent
occurring next to the primary, will be proved, and its presence
detected ; tor if any two consecutive syllables be uttered with a
downward action of the same hand accompanying each, they
must both be accented ; for it is manifest that there must be
between them the time of an unaccented syllable, correspondent
to the raising of the hand between its two descents.
In order to distinguish secondary from primary accents, let the
hand or finger make a full stroke downwards upon the table, for
the former ; and a half stroke downwards towards the table for
the latter. This will lead the voice, too, sympathetically, into a
correspondently relative inflexion of the accents.
RHYTHM.
The adjustment of the force of syllables, — of the accents, — in
sentences, constitutes rhythm ; a subject which has been involved
in much obscurity by the way in which writers have treated of it,
but which is sufficiently simple to be transferred to practice, long
before the complex theories of rhythmical writers could be fairly
230 HUVTUM.
studied. To express the pulsation and remission, time and rest,
which constitute the elements of rhythm, sets of symbols have
been invented, which are as unnecessary to the full understanding of
the subject, as thej are clumsy and deforming to the didactic page.
Rhythm, good or bad, is an element of all speech. In eveiy
sentence, however uttered, or by whomsoever, there is a rhythm ;
it may be stiff — like the action of a person on stilts ; regular and
firm — like the march of a soldier ; irregular and weak — ^like the
sidling progression of a simpleton ; undecided — ^like much ordinary
walking ; limping — like the motion of a cripple ; hurried or slow ;
leaping or creeping ; staggering or steady ; jolting or smooth ;
gracefid or vulgar : in short, it may have every characteristic of
action. As various as are the modes of walking, between the
courtier's gait and the hobble of a clown, or the styles of gesticn-
lation between the expressive elegance of an accomplished actor,
and the thumping and jumping of a ranting preacher, so numer-
ous and so characteristic are the kinds o( rhythm heard in the
different departments of oratory, and in colloquial speech.
The object of our rhythmical directions and exercises is to
enable the student to adapt the thesis and arsis of the voice, —
the light and shade of speech, to the full expression of the sense
of what he utters. The regulation of rhythm so as perfectly to
bring out the sense and expressiveness of a passage is often a very
nice point, requiring much judgment and taste ; it affords,
therefore, ample scope for the display of these admirable qualities
in a public reader or speaker ; and no more useful exercise can
occupy the attention of the elocutionary student.
The various readings of dispul^d passages in the poets, especi-
ally in Shakspere, which occupy critics, and afford such abundant
exercise and opportunity for mental and vocal discrimination, are
just so many varieties of rhythm. The pulsation of accent <m
this syllable^ and the remission on that, are the topics of the
most enlightened and learned disquisition and criticism.
Every single word is not the sign of a distinct idea. Gram-
matical words are rather, merely, syllables of what has been
called the " oratorical word,*' which fully expresses the idea or
completes some part of it. Words, therefore, in good utterance,
fall into expressive groups, which are separated from each other,
not always by a pause, but by some change of modulation, break
of inflexion, or other appreciable variety of style, which clearly
RHYTHM— GROUPING. 231
marks to the ear and mind, the boundaries of each group or
Oratorical Word.
We shall not, at once^ present the student with a perfect mode
of grouping, but lead him oyer some preliminary stages, to
show the mutual relations and dependencies of words ; and to
give him opportunity of practice in the principle of grouping and
pausing^ before arriving at the mode in which his highest ora-
torical efforts may safely be made.
I. Single words, we have said, do not separately express ideas, or complete
portions of an idea. Articles, for instance, serve merely to point out the
definiteness or indefiniteness of an object. Between them and their sabstantives
we find the first degree of relation subsisting. Let the student then consider the
article and the word to which it refers as one word, and enounce then accord-
ingly. The accent^ or rhythmical force, may sometimes be on the article,
" I did not say - a" man' - but - the" man' ;" " we should not write - an" u'nit,
- union, or universe, but - a" u'nit, - union, or universe :" — except, however,
in such contrasts, the article will be unaccented. The article may be united with
the qualifying word should one intervene between it and the substantive, — as
** a good - man, - a veiy - good - man ;" but should a parenthesis intervene,
the article must be separated from it, as in the sentence, ''It is an- I had
almost said - asinine affair,''^ In reading the passages illustrating the different
stages of grouping, or in practising any of the stages, the student should accom-
psmy each accent with an action of the hand or finger. In the following sen-
tences the downward action will take place on every word except in the article-
group. A secondary accent may be given to the article when it is the second
syllable before the primary accent of the group, as *' a' respect "able - man,"
*' the' delud"ed - people," " an' incre"dible - affair."
Examples of the First Stage.
A contemplation - of- God's - works, - a voluntary - act - of- jus-
tice - to - our - own - detriment, a generous - concern - for - the
good - of - mankind, - tears - shed - in - silence - for - the misery - of -
others, - a private - desire -of- resentment - broken - and - subdued, -
an unfeigned - exercise - of - himiility, or - any - other - virtue ; - are -
such - actions - as - denominate - men - great - and reputable.
He - that - would - pass - the latter - part - of - life - with - honour -
and - decency, - must, - when - he - is - young, - consider - that - he -
shall - one - day- be - old ; - and - remember - when - he - is - old - that-
he - has - once - been -young ; - in - youth - he - must - lay - up - know-
ledge - for - his - support - when - his - powers - of - acting - shall -
forsake - him, - and - in - age - forbear - to - animadvert - with - rigour
- on - faults - which - experience - only - can - correct.
232 RHYTHM.
A cheerful - temper, - joined - with - innocence, - will - make -
beantj - attractiye, - knowledge - delightful, - and - wit - good-na-
tured ; - it - will - lighten - sickness, - povertj, - and - affliction ^—
convert - ignorance - into - an amiable - simplicitj, - and - render -
deformitj - itself- agreeable.
Mankind - must - speak - from - the beginning, - therefore - ought
- from - the beginning - to - be - taught - to - speak - rightlj ; - else -
they - may - acquire - a habit -of- speaking - wrong. — And - who-
ever - knows - the difficulty- of - breaking - through - bad - habits,
- will - avoid - that - labour - by - prevention.
Night, - sable - goddess ! - from - her - ebon - throne,
In - rayless - majesty - now - stretches - forth
Her - leaden - sceptre - o'er - a slumbering - world.
Silence - how - dead ! - and - darkness - how - profound!
Nor - eye - nor - listening - ear - an object - finds.
Creation - sleeps. 'Tis - as - the general - pulse
Of - life - stood - still, - and - nature - made - a pause, —
An awful - pause, - prophetic - of - her - end.
II. The next degree of relation subsists between prepositions and the noimsfto
which they refer ; a break of any kind is seldom admissible betwixt them. The
groups may now therefore include with articles^ all prepcsitioiis^ when they stand
next to the words to which they relate. Should a parentheens intervene, the pre-
position must be separated from it, as ** ItwiU come to»T know natft^at-an
end at all events," In sudi constructions as the foDowing, the preposition
must stand apart from the words immediately after it, to show the dBipoii^ —
around him, above him, &c,
" Thus while — ^around— the toave suhjeeted soil
Impels the native to repeated toil"
" There, while — above — the giddy tempest flies.
And all Siroxmd-^istressful yeHs arise.^^ —
Prepositions used as part of a verb, whether as the sign of the infinitive, to
walk, to read, &c., or as adverbial complements to give in, to put dovm, &c,
may in this stage be included in the rhythmical groups.
Prepositicms — ^properly so called — are generally unaccented^ or mefdy of
secondary force. In case of antithesis, however, the preposition takes the
primaiy accent, as "I did not say - upon" the ta'ble, - but - un"der the ta'bk"
" Be instant - in" sea' son, and - out" of sea' son" The agn of the infinitive
to is always unaccented or secondary.
Prepositions used as part of a verb are generally the emphatic syllables
in the compound, as " Hold' off' - your hands. ^* " Rouse' up" "Jbrshame,^
" Shake' off'- this downy sleep^ death's counterfeit^ and look on deatk
itself:' " Say' on", - FU hear thee.''
A secondary accent will fall on the preposition when it is the second or third
RHYTHM— GR0U1>ING. 233
syllable before the primary : as " to' remem"ber^^^ " to'- lameiU'*i," '* within'
a month" j*^ ^^out' at thepor"Udy The prepositdoB wfll be seoondarily ' iac-
cented, also^ when it is the second or third syllable before a secondary accent,
as " 5y' (he rec'ommenda"tion,^^ '* through' a mis' apprehen" sum,''''
Examples of the Second Stage.
Tear - steals - upon us -after year. Life - is - never - still - for
a moment ; but - continuallj, - though - insensibly, - sliding - into
a- n^wi- form. Infancy ^ rises up ^ fast - to childhood ; - childhood -
to youth ; youth - passes - quickly - into manhood ; and - the grey
- hair, - and - the fading - look, - are - not - long - in admonishing -
us-that-old-age-is-at hand^
The desire - of distinction - in the world - is - a commendable -
quality - when - it - excites - men - to the performance - of illus-
trious - actions : but * this - ambition - is * so - seldom - directed - to
its - proper - end, - and - is - so - little - scrupulous - in the choice - of
the means - which - it -^ employs - for the accomplishment -< of its
- purpose, T that - it - frequently - ruins - the morals - of those -"who
-are'-actuated - by it : and - thus - for the pleasure - of being -
lifted up - for a moment - above the common - level - of mankind,
- many * a man - has - forfeited - his - character - with the wise -
and - good, - and - inflicted - v^ounds - on his - conscience, -which -
the balm - of flattering - dependants - can - never - heal.
Without eloquence, - knowledge - proceeds - faintly - and - slowly, -
like-^nnassist^ - strength -in manual -works -with much -clumsy
-labour : oratory- we- may- compa^ - to themechanicat - arts -
which, -by engines^ and - irell-adapted - instruments, - produce -
the- same - effeets-with ease,- ahd - finish- with elegancy: '
iThe umverse - is - i^presented - in every- one - of its - particles.
Every- thing - in ^ nature - contains - all * the' powers - of nature.
The world- globes - itself -^in a drop - of ^ia&ir. The mi(^roscope -
cannot - find - the aninlAlcttle, - which ^ is ^ less - perfect - fi)r being
-little. ■' Byes, -eaiB, - taste, smell, -motion, -resistance, -appetite,
- and - organs - of reproduction, - which - take - hold -on eternity, -
all •* find - room -. to consist - in the smaD: - creature.
Whence - learned - she - this ? - O - she ^ was - innocent !
And - to be - innocent - is - Nature's - wisdom 1
The fledge-dove - knows - the prowlers - of the air, -
Feared - soon - as - seen, - and - flutters - back - to shelter.
And * the- young - steed - recoils - upon his - haunches,
The never-yet-seen - adder's - hiss - first - heard.
surer • than - suspicion's - hundred - eyes -
23i RHYTUM^GROUPING.
Is - that - fiue - sense . which • to the pure - in heart -
Bj mere - oppugDancy . of their • own • goodness -
Reveals - the approach • of eviL
III. Conneoted in the next degree are Pereonal PronotmB and Yerfoe. Tlie
groups may now therefore indnde all personal prononns, whether governing the
verb ; as — I hve^ thou lovest, he loves, or goremed by it^ as love me, I love ker^
They love tu.
In sach phrases as there », was there, I did so, Sfc,<^ the words there and so,
have no adverbial force, and may be oonodered as a kind of impenonal pvo-
noon : they should therefore be added to the verb in this stage.
The sense must, of course^ regulate the aooent. When the pronoun is tbe
antecedent to a relative, it wiU be accented; as,
** He" jests' - at scars' - who' - nev'er * felt' - a wound'."
Also, when pronominal antitheas is expressed or implied, the pronoun will take
the primary accent* as—" did he' - tell' you", or - did you' - tdl' him" ?" but
otherwise the pronoun will generally be unaccented or secondary.
When the pronoun is tbe second syllable before the verbal aooent, it receives a
secondary accent, as — " I' acknowr'edge it." When the vexb itsdf has a se-
condary accent on the first syUable, it will yield that accent to the pronoun when
emphatic, unless the latter is not sufficiently emphatic to take a pause after it,
and form a beat by itself; a£— " We' entertain" - hopes of a recovery, tkougk
the patient does notf^ or—." We' - en'tertain" - hopes,^"* ffc. (the time of an
unaccented syllable between the pronoun and verb.)
Examples of the Third Stage.
God*s - moral-laws, -the radiations -of his -being, were-designed
- to converge - in the hiunan - heart, - and - form - there - another
. sun, -whose - light - is - peace ; peace - irradiating - ererj - ac-
tion - of the life - and - every - emotion - of the soul. Love - in
the heart - of God - is - the sum - of his - infinite - attributes, — ^the
source - of all - his - laws. Love - in the heart - of man - is - the
fulfilling, — the confluence - of those - laws. Thus, - ** God - is - a
Sun," and - the human - heart - a satellite, • revolving - areond
the great - heart - of God, - and - receiving - its - rajrs, - and - re-
flecting • its - light The royal - law - of love - is - a pencil - of
God's - attributes, - perfusing - the human - soul - with the grand
- generic - element - of his - being, - his - love, - and - with tihe Kght -
of that - love, - which - is - peace. Nay, - more ; - the connexion
- between the sun - and - its - satellite - comes - far - short - of
illustrating - the unity - subsisting - between God - and r him - who
- keeps - his - royal-law. Says - the apostle, ** He - that - dwelleth-
in love, - dwelleth - in God, - and - God - in him ;" - love - merges
- his - heart - in the heart - of God, - a tributary - to that - ocean
RHYTHM-.GROUPING. 235
- of bliss, - and - light, - and - peace, - with which . the effluence
- of God's - being - would - fill - the universe, - were - his - rojal -
law - obeyed - in all - worlds - as - it is - in heaven.
If - there were - no - other - benefits - resulting - from the art -
of reading - well, - than - the necessity - it lays us under - of pre-
cisely - ascertaining - the meaning - of what - we read, - and - the
habit - of doing - this - with facility, - both - when - reading -
silently - and - aloud, - they would - constitute - a sufficient - com-
pensation - for all - the labours - we can - bestow - on the subject.
There is - not - an evil- incident - tb human - nature,- for which
- the gospel - doth - not - provide - a remedy. Are you - ignorant
- of manj - things - which - it - highlj - concerns you - to know ?
- The gospel - offers you - instruction. Have you - deviated -
from the path - of duty ? — The gospel - offers you - forgiveness.
— Do - temptations - surround you? — The gospel- offers you -the
aid - of Heaven. Are jou - exposed - to misery ? — It consoles
you. Are you - subject - to death ? — It offers you - immortality.
There is - a true - sublime - in delivery, - as . in the other -
imitative - arts ; in the manner - as-well-as . in the matter - of
what - an orator - delivers. As - in poetry, . painting, - sculpture^
- music, - and - the other - elegancies, - the true . sublime - con-
sbts - in a set - of masterly, . large, • and - noble - strokes . of
art, - superior - to florid - littleness ;. so . it is - in delivery. The
accents . are - to be •* clear - and - articulate ; every . syllable -
standing off - from that, which - is . next - to it, . so . that - they
might .be - numbered - as - they proceed. The inflexions . of
the voice - are - to be - so . distinctly - suited - to the matter, •
that - the humour - or - passions - might - bo - known - by the
sound - of the voice - only, . where - there could - not -be - one-
word - heard. And - the variations - are - to be - like - the full -
swelling • folds - of the drapery - in a fine - picture - or- statue,
- bold, - and - free, - and - forcible,
(X - we are - querulous - creatures ! Little - less -
Than - nothing - can - suffice - to make us - happy ;
And - little - less - than - nothing - is - enough -
To make us - wretched.
At thirty - man - suspects himself - a fool ;
Knows it - at forty, - and - reforms - his - plan ;
At fifty, - chides - his - infamous - delay, —
Poshes - his ^ prudent - purpose - to resolve ;
In all - the magnanimity - of thought.
Resolves, - and - re-resolves, - then - dies - the same.
236 RHYTHM— GROUPING.
IV. Adjecti?e Pfohouds may now be united to their nouns, or to the qualifying
word inteiyening ; and Relative Pronouns to jthe ye^w.wliidi Jthej gSKi^P^fi^
by which they are governed^ to fomi the ne^ stage of pop^paeted utterance.
The componnd pronominal adjectives, my otim, his otrn, S^c. may be considered
as one, and united with their nouns ; as — ^^ Come' yotL-'-of your own' Qccor^\
-munis' it^-your oum' incWningf^
The primary accent will be on the pronoun, only when it ia antithetic to some
othtr, ex(»essed or understood ; as-— ^^ His" woods' ^come' "/'r&m'^ Am mauAf"'-
oMfA- 'from' our hreasi"^^'* or when it is the anteoedsnt to a jdative ; a»-r
^ \ fiv"ery mari'^wh) un'derstauds"—^the sub'je€^'-'^ll'--'^.^y' §0,"*"* A Bd^ffi-
daiy accent will .fall on the pronoun :when it is thfi.secoiid syllable b^biethe
pnmary,.a^9 — ^^ His' indus"trious - hab'its;^^ but if apreppsition precede the pro-
noun, the secondaiy accent may pass the pronoun, and give prominence to the
preposition, according to the sense. In the following sentepce, most reaiden
would put the secondary accent on the preposition in the first instance, and on
the pronoun in the second. ^^ By' his indus^'trious^^Jidb'itS'^-Jie rose' — to
his' disM'guished — station,^^'
" ElAllPLES OP THE FoURTH StAGE.
There is - no - music - in the life
That sounds - with idiot-laughter - solely ;
There's - not - a string - attuned - to inirth —
But - has - its chord - in melancholy.
The principal - rule - fot guiding - our choice - of words - with
a view - to Energy, - is - to prefer - ever - those words - which are
- the least - abstract, - and - general. Individuals - alone - hav-
ing - a real - existence, - the terms - denoting them - caJled - by
Logicians " singular - terms," - will, - of course, - make - the most -
vivid - impression - on the mind, - and - exercise - most - the power
- of conception ; and - the less - remote - any term - is - from
these, i,e, the more - specific - or - individual, - the more - energy
- it will - possess - in comparison - of such - as - are - more - general
The impression - produced - on the mind - by a ** singular -
term" - may- be - compared - to the distinct - view - taken irirby
the eye - of any object — suppose - some particular - man - near - at
hand - in a clear - light, - which enables us - to distinguish -
the features -of the individual; in a fainter -light, -or -rather
-farther ofp, -we merely -perceive -that -the object -is -a man;
this - corresponds -with the idea - conveyed -by the name -of the
species ; yet - further oflF, - or - in a still - feebler - light, - we
can - distinguish - merely - some living - object; and - at, length,
- merely - some object ; these views - corresponding - respec-
tively - with the terms, - the genera - more - or - l6ss - remote.
And - as - each - of these views -conveys, - as - far -jas - it goes,
RHYTHM— GROUPING. 237
r an equally ^ correct - impression - to the mind, - though - each -
successiveljF -is •" less - mid t^ so -in limgnage-a generic -term -
may -be - as -clearly^ understood - as - a specific - or -asingular -
term, - but -will - convey - a much -less - forcible - impression -to
the hearer's - ndind.
The boast - of heraldry, the pomp - of power.
And r^all -that beauty, .t all ^ that ppmp - e^er - gave.
Await,.- j^like,„-- the inevilablfi^- houTv;. . ^ --. .
The paths - of glory - lead - but - to the grave.
He - that has - long - cultivated - the tree, and - pleased him-
self - with computing - how - much - every sun - and - shower - has
- added - to its growth, - scarcely - stays - till - the fruit - has -
reached - its maturity, - but - defeats - his own cares - by eager-
ness - to reward them.
Know, - Nature's - children - all - divide - her care ;
The fur - that warms -. a monarch - warmed - a bear.
While - man r ezclaims, .- "See, - all things-for my.use,*'-
*' See, - man - for mine ! " - exclaims ^ a pampered ^ goose :
And - just^- as - short •* of reason, - he must - fall.
Who thinks -aJl -made -- for one, - not r. one - for all.
You wrong me -^very way; you wrong me, - Brutus ; -
I said - fui el4^ - soldier^ - not - a better. . \>- r-x .
Did I.- say r. better ? •
The ^^rce - of attitisde - and - looks - alone - appears - in a
wondroiisly - striking - manner*^ in the works - of the painter -
and - statuary, *- who have ^ the delicate - art - of nsaking - tine
fta<) -canvas - and - rocky - marble - utter - every passion - of
the human^^ mind, - and - touch - the soul - ^f the spectator,' •<•
as - if •'^tlie picture - or -statue - spoke -the pathetic -laiiguage-
of Sbakspeare. It is - no - wonder, - then, - that -masterly- action,
- joined - with powerful - elocution, - should - be - irresistible.'
Real - actions - Is -» in silent - moments. The epochs - of our
life - Bre - not - in the visible - facts- of our choice- of a calling,
" our marriage, - our aoquisitioit ^ of an office - and-- the like ;
but- in a -silent -thought - by the wayside^- as - we walk ; "m a
thought - which revises - our entire- manner - of life, - and - says*, -^
•< Thus - hast thou - done, " but- it were - better - thus/' And-
aU - our after-years, - like - menials,^ do - serve - andr wait - on
this, - anc^^ according vio their s^ility^ - do - execute - it» will.
238 RHYTHM-GROUPINO.
v. The N^atives no and not^ and Adverbs qnalifying adjectives oit adverbs,
seem now least to bear separation from their respective oorrelated words, and
they may therefore be added to the rhythmical groaps.
The negative, and adverb of this dass, are generally unaccented, or col/
under the secondary accent. The negative takes the primary accent in soch a
sentence; as— ^^^ To he'^^^or'^^not" to (eV^ because of the emphatic opposition ;
and the adverb will take the accent when the degree of limitation rather tiian
the fiict of linutation is to be made promment ; as in the latter part of this ses-
tence, — " It ts'-^^igh'ly pr<>b"able-^very" prob'ahle — noih'ing'''more" jo'.**
Examples of the Fifth Stage.
There is - nothing - in the universe - that stands - alone, —
nothing - solitary. No atom - of matter, - no drop - of water, - no
vesicle - of air, - or - ray - of light - exists - in a state - of isolation.
Everything - belongs - to some system - of society, of which - it
is - a component - and - necessary - part. Just so - it is - in the
moral - world. — No man - stands - alone, - nor - high - angel, -
nor - child. All the beings - " lessening down - from Infinite -
perfection - to the brink - of dreary - nothing," belong - to a
system - of mutual - dependencies. All - and - each - constitute
- and - enjoy - a part - of the world's - sum - of happiness. No
one - liveth - to himself. The most obscure - individual - exerts
- an influence - which must - be - felt - in the great - brotherhood
- of mankind. As - the little - silvery - circular - ripple, - set - in
motion - by the falling - pebble, - expands - from its inch - of
radius - to the whole - compass - of the pool, - so - there is not- a
child, - not - an infant - Moses - placed, - however sofUj, - in his
bulrush - ark - upon the sea - of time, - whose exbtence - does not
- stir - a ripple - gyrating - outward - and - on, -until - it shall -
have - moved across - and - spanned - the whole - ocean - of Qod's
- eternity, - stirring - even - the river -of life, - and - the fountains
- at which - his tall - angels - drink. " To be, - or - not to be ?"
- is that - the question? No. — We are ; - and - whether - we live
- or - die - we are - the liOrd's ; we belong - to his eternity, - and-
henceforth - his moral - universe - will- be - filled - with our existence.
Because - the soul - is - progressive - it never - quite - repeats
itself, - but - in every act - attempts - the production - of a new
- and - fairer - whole. Thus, - in our Fine - Arts, - not imita-
tion, - but - creation - is - the aim. In landscape, - the painter
- should - give - the suggestion - of a fairer - creation - than - we
know. The details, - the prose - of Nature, - he should - omit,
- and - give us - only - the spirit - and - splendour. Valuing -
RHYTHM— GROUPING. 239
more - the expression - of Nature - than - Nature - herself, - he
will - exalt - in his copy - the features - that {dease him. He
will - give - the gloom - of gloom, -and - the sunshine -of sunshine.
With what stiff - and - pedantic - solenmitj - do - some public-
speakers - utter - thoughts - so trifling - as - to be - hardly worth
- uttering - at all ! and - what unnatural - and - unsuitable -
tones - and - gesticulations - do - others - apply - in delivering -
what, - by their manner - of delivery, - one - would be - apt - to
question, - not only - whether - it is - their own composition, - but
- whether - they - really - understand it.
Methought - I saw -
Life - swiftly - treading - over endless - space.
And - at her foot-print - but - a bygone - pace,-
The ocean-past - which, - with increasing - wave,
Swallowed - her steps - like - a pursuing - grave.
Look - how - the golden - ocean - shines - above
Its pebbly - stones, - and - magnifies - their girth';
So - does - the bright - and - blessed - light - of love.
Its own things - glorify, - and - raise - their worth.
VI. Auxiliary Verbs may form the next addition, and be read with their princi-
pal verbs as one oratorical word. Shoold an adverb, or any danse, intervene be-
tween the auxiliary and principal verb, such word or clanse must stand by itself,
and the auxiliary be separated ; as—" / shall' ^^^er'tainly — avaiV myself-^^f*
your kind"nes8y " You may'^-I' assure" you — cal'culate — on this*,^^
The primary accent will always fall on the principal verb, unless when the
circumstances of time, mode, &c. are peculiarly emphatic ; as — " Go' I mu"sV
" / did" believe' him-once' J*^ ** I do" suspect' him-not' withstand" ing,'^'* ** It
can"not he done'*^
Examples of the Sixth Stage.
Society - never - advances. It recedes - as fast - on one side -
as - it gains - on the other. It undergoes - continual - changes ;
but - this change - is not - amelioration. For everything -that
is given - something - is taken. Society - acquires - new -
arts - and - loses - old - instincts. The civilized - man - has built
- a coach, - but - has lost - the use - of his feet. He is supported
- on crutches, but - loses - so much - support - of muscle. He
has got - a fine - Geneva - watch, - but - he has lost - the skill -
to tell - the hour - by the sun. A Greenwich - nautical-almanac -
he has, - and - so - being - sure - of the information - when - he
wants it. - the man - in the street - does not know - a star - in
K
240 RHYTHM— GROUPING.
tlie Bkj^ The solstice - he knows - as little : and - the ^hole
bright ^calendar -of the year -is -without a dial '-in his inind.
' His liote-books - impair - his memory ; his libraries - oyerload -
hi»wit,
Next - to the bleKsing - of redemptiotf ^ and -thd graces-coh-
se^pielit - upon it« -there is - no gift ^bestowed - *bj God -'eqmd -
in value - to a good -'edneation-; other adyantages - are enjoyed
«by the body, - this - belongs - entirely - to the spirit ; whatever
is - great, - or - good, - or - glorious - in the works - of m^ - is
- the fruit - of educated - minds. Religion - herself - loses -
half - her beauty '- and - influence - when - not attended - or -
assisted - by education ; and - her power - and * majesty - are-
never - so exalted - as - when - cultivated- genius - and - refined
- taste - become - her herald& ^ or - lier handmaids.
On parent-knees - a naked - uew-bom - child.
Weeping - thou sat'st, - while - all - around thee - smiled ;
So - live, - that - sinking - on thy last - long - sleep.
Thou - then - may *st smile - while - all - around thee - weep.
Ah ! - must I dwell - in infinite - despair, -
As many years - as - atoms - in the air ? -
When - these - expire, - as many - yet - in store -
As - grains - of sand - that crowd - the ebbing - shore ? -
When - these - are gone, - as many - to ensue -
As - blades - of grass - on hills - or - dales - that grew?
When - these - pass o'er, - as many - left behind -
As - leaves - of forests - shaken - by the wind ?
When - these - run out, - as many - on the march -
As - brilliant - lamps - that gild - yon azure - arch ?
When - these - are past, - as many - many - more.
As - moments - in the millions - past - before ?
When - all - these dreadful - years. - are spent - in pain,
And - multiplied - by myriads - again,
Till - numbers - drown - the thought : could I suppose -
That - those - my wretched - years - were - at a close,
This - would afford - some ease ; but - ah, - I shiver
To think - upon the dreadful - words - "for ever!"
The burning - gulf - where - I - blaspheming - lie, ^
Is - time - no more, - but - vast - Eternity !
RHYTHM—GROUPING. 241
Nor - can - any reader - imagine - an art - could have been - in
all free - governments - so laboriously - cultivated - by statesmen,
- had they not found it - useful- in the state. Do we not - in our
own times - see - the effects - produced - by it - in the British -
Parliament ? But - if - any one - should allege - that - there is -
nothing - in the power - of preachers - by means - of oratory, - does
it not follow - that - then - the whole function - of preaching -
may - as well - be laid aside ? For - if- good - speaking - will have -
no effect - upon mankind, - surely - bad - speaking - will have none.
Vn. A most important addition to the groups may now be made in the Ad-
jective^ which may be indaded with its noan, or phrase eqmvalent, in the same
oratorical word. Two adjectives cannot, of course, be so connected, for there
is between them a necessary ellipsis of the noun.
Noons in the Possessive case may also be added to the groups in this stage ;
as — " The PiVgrinCs Pro" gress,'*'' '* Which* 4n heav'sn-mll show' -the best^-a
rich' man's hon"our,-or — a poor' man's hon"esty V The student must now be
most careftd to regulate the accents in accordance with the sense. The noun
in the possessive will have the primary accent only in case of antithesis ; as —
" This is a wo"man^s cloak'^-not' a man's",^^ The adjective will have the
primary and the noun the secondary accent, when the subject of the sentence is
rather the quality of the noun than the noun itself; or when the noun has been
previously expressed or implied in the sentence ; but otherwise the primary accent
will be generally demanded by the noun.
It is a common but erroneous rule, that the chief accent should be always on
the qualifying or limiting word. The primary accent cannot be always on
either the one or the other, but it is more frequently on the qualified than on
the qualifying word. In the best class of compositions, a large proportion of
the adjectives aiid nouns vnll be found to be of equal value ; and of those that
are not so, the nouns have most frequently the preponderance of emphasis.
Thus in Pope's short poem of the ** Mesmah,^' we note 103 adjective clauses ; in
39 of which the adjectives and nouns are of equal value (equally emphatic
or equally subordinate ;) in 46 of which the nouns are of superior value to the
adjectives ; and in only 18 of which the adjectives require to be primarily
accented. In farther illustration, we collect the adjective-dauses from two pieces
with which every reader must be familiar, — Lord Byron's stanzas to the Ocean,
and the Rev. C. Wolfe's lines on the Burial of Sir John Moore.
^^ There is a pleasure in the pathless woods ; There is a rapture on the lonely
shore ; There is society, where none intrudes. By the deep sea^ and music in its
roar Roll on, thou deep^ and dark, blue Ocean, — ^roll I Ten thousand fleets
sweep over thee in vain! The armaments which thunderstrike the walls of
rock-built cities The oak leviathans^ whose huge ribs make Their clay
creator the vain title take of lord of thee Time' writes no wrinkles on thine
Hh
242 RHYTHM— GROUPING.
azure brow Thou glorious mirror^ where the Almighty *s fbrm glasses
itself," &c.
^^ Not a dram was heard, not a funeral note Not a soldier discharged hia
farewell shot By the struggling moon-beam's misty light. No tiseUss
coffin enclosed his breast With his martial cZoaA; around him Few
and short were the prayers we said We thought as we hollowed his nar-
row bed, And smoothed down his lonely piUow Bat half of our heavy
task was done And we heard the distant and random gun Lightly
they'll talk of the spirit that's gone, And o'er his cold ashes upbraid him»" &c
What reader of any judgement could subordinate the accent on the nouns to
that of the adjectives in all these cases ? Nay, out of these twenty-four adj^-
tive-phrases, who could, with justice to the sense, give to more than six or
seven of the adjectives the primary accent ?
The student will find the marking of the primary and secondary accents in the
groups of this and the following stages, a most valuable exercise, both for the
improvement of readmg, and the cultivation of the judgement.
To be able to read well at sight is not the work of a day ; nor is it a power
ever to be gained by the indolent or the unthinking, or by those who neglect
the study of Beading as a Science, and an Art. There is a Vocal Logic ; a
Rhetoric of Inflexion ; a Poetry of Modulation ; a Commentator's explanatoriness
of Tone, and these are combined, in efiective reading. The musician's consum-
mate skill, and delicacy of execution, in keeping the simple air running with a
wavy current in the midst of a river of variations, has its counterpart in the
reader's vocal adaptation of sound to sense. The painter's artistic excellence in
selecting objects to be strack out with varied effects, or covered down for con-
trast, is emulated by the skilful reader, in the due subordination and prominence
of every thought and circumstance, according to its relative importance. A
master of ceremonies is not more punctilious in his arrangements, than the
voice of a tasteful and judicious reader.
Can drawlers dream of these capabilities in connexion with reading ? Can
they imagine the possibility of such improvements on the hum-drum, sing-song
tmie of then- voices ; the flat, misty, effectless daubs of their vocal pictures ;
the anarchy and orderless confusion of their grouping and emphasis ? Baneful
habit has stopped their ears and closed their eyes, so that they are unconscious
alike of the high possibilities of reading, and of their own low actualities. No
man who felt his failings, and knew what might be done by the reader would
ever open his mouth in public to deteriorate the taste of an audience by such
gross incompetency as is but too often manifested by public readers.
To become a good reader reqmres long practice and deep study. It requires
more than Rules could teach, or Art principle ; yet it demands nothing which
the mind may not discover for itself, when it has become accustomed to fix its
attention, and concentrate its powers in reading. The voice will soon learn ex-
pressive obedience when it habitually watches for, and can recognise the mental
promptings. Yet, perhaps,— and this forms the value of reading-exerdees in
RHYTHM— GROUPING. «43
educating the mind,-~the student will find, that, even in his best efforts, his
execution will fall oonaderablj short of his conceptions.
These remarks may seem misplaced here, — onr business being with the 7th
stage of grouping and accentuation ; but in tlie worst reading, it is improper
grouping and accentuation that make the reading so bad ; and the error lies
most frequently in the management of Adjectives and qualifying phrases. So
that, with good reason, we take occasion here to caution the student to be very
careful, in this and the following stages, to cultivate a habit of close-thinking
as he reads, and of careful relative accentuation.
Examples of the Seventh Stage.
Take - the general term, - man. We have - occasion - to apply
it - to the denoting - of some particular. Let it be required - to
express - this particular - as - unknown, - we say- a" man' ; - known,
- we say - the" man' ; - indefinite, - any man ; - definite, - a certain
man ; - present - and - near, - this man ; - present - and - distant, -
that man ; - like - to some other, - such a man ; - an indefinite mul-
titude, - many men ; - a definite multitude, - a thousand men ; - the
ones - of a multitude - taken - throughout, - every man ; - the same
ones - taken - with distinction, - each man ; - taken - in order, - first
man, - second man, &c. ; - the whole multitude - of particulars -
taken - collectively, - all men ; - the negation - of this multitude, -
no man.
I hold - our actual knowledge - very cheap. Hear - the rats -
in the wall, - see - the lizard - on the fence, - the fungus - under
foot, - the lichen - on the log. What - do I know - sympatheti-
cally - morally - of either - of these worlds - of life ? As long -
as - the Caucasian man, - perhaps longer, - these creatures - have
kept - their council - beside him, - and - there is - no record - of
any word - or - sign - that has passed - from one - to the other.
Nay - what does - history - yet - record - of the metaphysical
annals - of man ? What light - does it shed - on those mysteries -
which we hide-- under the names - Death - and - Immortality ?
Yet - every history - should be written - in a wisdom - which
divined - the range - of our affinities, - and - looked - at facts - as
symbols. I am ashamed « to see - what a shallow village-tale -
- our so-called History - is.
The convincing - and - irrefragable proof - that - real - and -
important effects - might be produced - by preachers - by a proper
application - of oratory - to the purposes - of instructing - and *
amending - mankind - is, - that - oratory - has been - in all times
- known - actually - to produce - great alterations - in men's ways
- of thinking - and - acting. And - there is - no denying - facts.
244 RHYTHM— GROUPING.
Sonnet. — Lear,
A poor - old king - with sorrow - for my crown, -
Throned - upon straw, - and - mantled - with the wind, -
For pity - mj own tears - have made me - blind -
That - 1 might • never - see - my children's frown ;
And - may-be - madness • hke a friend - has thrown -
A folded fillet - over my dark mind,
So - that - unkindly speech -may sound - for kind, -
Albeit - I know not. I am - childish - grown -
And - have not - gold - to purchase - wit * withal. -
I - that have - once - maintained - most royal state,
A very bankrupt - now, - that may not call -
My child, - my child — all beggar*d - save - in tears.
Wherewith - 1 - daily - weep - an old man*s fate,
Foolish, - and - blind, - and - overcome - with years ! — Hood.
YIII. Nounfl, adjectiTCS, adverbs, or siinple equivalent phrases formiDg the
thing or quality predicated by the verb To Be, may be united to the verb, to
form the next stage of rhythmically compacted utterance ; as— .^' Content'
ment - is great gain^
The verb seldom takes the primary accent, unless what is aflirmed is of kai
importanoe in the sentence than the act of affirmation. Thos, when opposed to
a negation — expressed or implied.— or when there is an antithesis of time, the
verb will be primarily accented ; but otherwise it will be nnaooented, or will
take only the secondary accent ; as — ^^ Is' it so" f^ (or is it otherwise ? un-
derstood. "/*" it so'f (or is it not so? understood.) "7#" it so'?'
(I know it was so^ understood.)
Examples of the Eighth Stage.
It may - perhaps - be objected, - that - sacred truth - needs - no
ornaments - to set it off, - no art - to enforce it ; that - the
Apostles - were artless - and - illiterate men ; and - jet - they
gained - the great end - of their mission, - the conviction - of mul-
titudes, - and - establishment - of their religion ; tliat - therefore -
there is no necessity - for this attention - to delivery, - in order - to
qualify- the preacher - for his sacred office, - or- render - his labours
- successful. To this - the answer - is ready, - viz. - The apostles -
were not all - artless - and - illiterate. Paul, - the greatest - and
- most general propagator - of Christianity, - is an eminent excep-
tion. He could be no mean orator - who confounded - the Jews -
at Damascus ; - made - a prince, - before whom - he stood - to be
judged, - confess - that - he had - almost - persuaded him - to bopome
RHYTHM— GROUPING. 245
- a convert - to a religion - everywhere - spoken against ; threw
another - into a fit - of trembling - as - he sat - upon his judgment-
seat ; made - a defence - before the learned court - of Areopagus,
- which gained him - for a convert - a member - of the court itself;
struck - a whole people - with such admiration - that - thej took
him - for the God - of Eloquence ; - and - gained him - a place - in
Longinus' list - of famous orators. Would - the cold-served-up
monotony- of our English sermon-readers - have produced - such
effects - as these ? The apostles - might - very well - spare -
human accomplishments, - having - what was worth them all, -
the Divine gift - of working - miracles ; which - if - our preachers
- had, - I should not have - much - to say - about their qualifying
themselves - in elocution. But, - as it is, - public instruction -
is the preacher's weapon - with which - he is to combat - infidelity
- and - vice. And - what avails - a weapon - without skill - to
wield it ?
It is easy - in the world - to live - after the world's opinion ;
- it is easy - in solitude - to live - after our own ; - but - the great
man - is he - who, - in the midst - of the crowd, - keeps -with per-
fect sweetness - the independence - of solitude.
The material cause, — the trumpet - sounds - because -'tis made
- of metal. The formal cause, — the trumpet - sounds - because -
'tis long - and - hollow. The efficient cause, — the trumpet -
sounds - because - an artist - blows it. The final cause, — the
trumpet - sounds - that - it may raise - our courage.
Those things - which are first - to Nature - are not first - to
man. Nature - begins- from causes, - and - thence - descends - to
effects. — Human perceptions - first - open - upon effects, - and -
thence, - by slow degrees, - ascend - to causes.
Like - to the falling - of a star,
Or - as - the flights - of eagles - are, —
Or - like the fresh spring's - gaudy hue,
Or - silver drops - of morning dew ;
Or - like a wind - that chafes - the flood.
Or - bubbles - which - on water - stood :
Even such - is man - whose borrowed light -
Is - straight - called in - and - paid - to niglit ; —
The wind - blows out, - the bubble - dies,
The spring - entombed - in Autumn - lies, —
The dew*s - dried up, - the star - is shot.
The flight - is past, - and - man - forgot.
246
RHYTHM— GROUP IKG.
IX. UiiimpcirUnt Conjmictiuiif.— tbote diiefly which couple woidt, or niiik
daiues, and not leadiug seatenoes, and which are not followed by dK pro, -j mj
DOW be iDdaded in the same rfajthmical group with the word or daoae which tkj
precede; a»— " Whoev'er ^ is' in a kur"ry - thcw^' - that* ike tkinjf'k
if' about"- is too' big"' for him ; ha»U' -and kur'ry - are oer> d^'finU
aUnffs'r
When a parenthens or an emphatic advert) ibflowB the coojimction, it mart
be kept apart ; as—'' /' shaUoaU"- atuf, - if poe"eibie, - ae'eerttM'-Jm
- mat'ters - are' progres" sing^^'
To thiB stage may be added, daoset eonneeted bj conjunctioaa or pRpai*
tiooa, which are expressiTC of altematioo ; a^^*'' Now and them jT *'*' (h»\%
one;** '' Backward and forward ;^^ ^'' Up and down^^'' Sfe. fduchmajbetakoi
into one group. Example.—'' It was the village favourite - who was cnmui
- with flowers^ - and - blushing and smilmg - in all the beautiful confiukm -
of girlish diffidence - and delight,^
'' From hiU to hill - the nuhing host - pnraned.'*
" From tent to tent - the impatient warrior - ffiea."
Words or simple phrases nnited by oonjonctiona, when so doeely oonneoted is
the sense that they are not intended separately to have tuaj foroe in the n-
tenoe, may also be taken into the group ; as,—
" Mount - thy good steed - and - thou and I- will meet him - oo his wi^."
In all cases where the conjunction does not demand a separate accent, it wiH
be unaccented or only of secondary force.
Examples of the Ninth Stage.
Innumerable instances - could be adduced - to proye - the nst
importance - which belongs - to an effective enunciation. Far
greater numbers - of our preachers - fail - for want - of this - than
- from any other cause ; a fact - so notorious - as to need - no
proof - beyond common observation, - and - so important - as to
demand • the attention, - not only - of the Professors, - but of the
Committees - of all our Colleges. It is - too generallj - the case,
- that - no adequate culture - is bestowed - upon the speaking
powers - of our students - from the beginning - to the end - of
their course - of study. There is great assiduity « manifested -
in giving them - a fulness - of matter, - but - far too little - in
producing - an impressiveness - of manner. Every assistance -is
granted - to make them - scholars, - philosophers, - and divines ;
but, - as to good speaking, - for the acquisition - of this - they are
left - pretty much - to themselves. A complete system - of minis-
terial education - must - of necessity - include - some attention -to
elocution, - and - which should commence - as soon - as a student -
enters - college ; so that - by the time - he is put - upon the
RHYTHM— GROUPING . 247
preaching list, - he maj have - some aptitude - for the manage-
ment - of his voice, - and not have - his thoughts - diverted -
then ' from his matter - and his object - to his manner. He should
- bj that time - have acquired - a habit - of good speaking, - so as
to be able - to practise it - with facility - and without study. The
great objection - to lectures - on Elocution-is, - that thej are apt
- to produce - a pompous, - stiff, * and affected manner ; but-
this - is an abuse - of the art, - the object - of which > should
be - to cure - the vices - of a bad, - and to supply - the wants - of
a defective enunciation^ - and - to form - an easy, - natural, - and
impressive delivery. — Eev, J, A, James,
Every evil - to which - we do not succumb - is a benefactor. As
the Sandwich Islander - believes - that the strength - and valour
- of the enemy - he kills - passes - into himself, - so - we gain - the
strength - of the temptation - we resist.
The man - who has seen - the rising moon - break - out of the
clouds - at midnight, - has been present - like an archangel - at
the creation - of light - and of the world.
The sun - hath - almost - reached - his journey's close, -
The ray - he sheds - is gentle, - softly bright, -
Pure - as the pensive light - from woman's eyes -
When - kindled up - by retrospective thoughts, -
Wandering - to former scenes - of love - and joy.
But yet - there is a melancholy tinge -
In that rich radiance : - and - a passing thought -
Of things departed^ - and of days gone by. -
At such an hour - insensibly - will weave
Itself - into the texture - of the scene. -
Nothing - departs - alone : - the dying day -
fiears - with it - many • to the last repose. -
The setting sun, - so gorgeously - arrayed -
In beams - of light, - and - curtained - round about -
With clouds - steeped - in the rainbow's richest dyes, -
So fair, - so full - of light - and living glory, -
That - with the ancient Persian, - one might deem
Him - God - of all - he looks upon - below —
His setting - ushers in - a night - to some -
Which -morning - shall not breaL — AUx. Beihune.
X, tJnemphatic adverbs of time, place, interrogation, manner, &c., and gene-
rally nnemphatic adverbs qualifying verbs, and also simple adverbial phrases, may
248 RHYTHM.
be grouped with the word or clause before or after them, or with both, aoooidin;
to the degree of oorrektioD, to form the next stage of claunng. *^ He - who waOt'-
eth up"r%ghtly - walk'eth au"rely." ** Some" peo'ple - wili nev'er kam" an'$-
thing, - for this' rea^son, - because' - theyun'derstand" ev'eiything too' soon'"."
*' It often hap"pens^ - that those' - are' the best" peo'ple - whoee' char"acten
- have' been mast' %n"jured - by slan'der ; as', - we u'guaUyfind' that" - to be'
the swee'test fruit" - which' - the bwds' - have' been peck"ing at.'* " /
afterwards - learned' - the whole' 8to"ry - of the deceased"."
" Stretched' - on' the ground" awhile' - entranced' he lay'."
'^ r and my friends" - afterwards discov"ered - that' we had been' deceived^'.''
** Spark' - of that' flame" perchance - of heav"enly birth', -
Which' gleams", - but' warms" no mor'e - its cher'ished earth"."
Evil, - be thou'" my' good" J by thee', - at least'
Divi"ded Em'pire, - with Heav'en's King" - I hold'.
The adverb may frequently have the primary accent ; though, here, as m the
cases before noticed, the quali^ring word is only accented when some special
reference to the qualifying circumstance renders it emphatic.
Examples op the Tenth Stage.
True eloquence - does not wait - for cool approbation. Like
irresistible beauty, - it transports, - it ravishes, - it commands -
the admiration - of all - who are within its reach. If it allows -
time - to criticise, - it is not genuine. It ought - to hurry us-out
of ourselves, - to engage, - and swallow up - our whole attention ;
to drive everything - out of our minds, - besides the subject - it
would hold forth, - and the point - it wants - to carry. The
hearer - finds himself - as unable - to resist it - as to blow out - a
conflagration - with the breath - of his mouth, - or - to stop - the
stream - of a river - with his hand. His passions - are no longer
his own. The orator - has taken - possession - of them ; and -
with superior power - works them - to whatever he pleases.
There is no earthly object - capable - of making - such various -
and such forcible impressions - upon the human mind - as a con-
summate speaker. In the artificial creations, - which flow - from
the pencil - of a Raphael, - the critical eye - is indeed delighted -
to a high pitch ; - but the ear - remains wholly unengaged - and
unentertained. In the raptures - of Corelli, - Geminiani, - and
Handel, - the flood - of pleasure - which pours - upon the ear - is
almost too much - for human nature ; - but here - the eye - has
not - its gratification. For the opera, - in which - action - is joined
- with music, - in order - to entertain - the eye - at the same time
- with the ear, - I must beg leave, - with all due submission - to
the taste - of the great, - to consider it - a forced conjunction - of
RHVTHM— GROUPING. 249
two things, - which - nature - does not allow - to go together. It
never will be other than unnatural - to see - heroes - fighting, -
commanding, - threatening, - lamenting, - and making love - in
the warblings - of an Italian song. It is onlj the elegant speaker
-who can at once- regale -the eje-with the view -of its most
amiable object, - the human form - in all its glorj ; - the ear - with
the original - of all music, - the understanding - with its proper - and
natural food, - the knowledge - of important truths ; - and the ima-
gination - with all - that - in nature - or in art - is beautiful, -
sublime, - or wonderful. For - the orator's field - is the universe, -
and - his subjects - are - all that is known - of God, - and his
works ; - of superior natures - good - and evil, - and their works ;
and - of terrestials, - and theirs. Whoever is proof - against such
a display, - must have - neither eye, - nor ear, - nor passion, - nor
imagination, - nor taste, - nor understanding.
Friend, - thou must trust - in Him - who trod before -
The desolate path - of life : -
Must bear - in meekness, - as He meekly bore -
Sorrow, - and pain, - and strife.
Think - how the Son - of God -
These thorny paths - hath trod ; -
Think - how He longed - to go, -
Yet tarried out - for thee, - the appointed woe.
Think - of his weariness - in places dim, -
Where no man - comforted, - or cared - for Him. -
Think -of the blood-like sweat -
With which - his brow - was wet, -
Yet - how He prayed, - unaided - and alone, -
In that great agony — " Thy will -be done I'*
Friend ! - do not thou despair, -
Christ - from his heaven - of heavens • will hear - thy prayer.
XI. The word or simple clause constitnting the object of an active or transitive
verb, as — " To love wr<w«," — ** to esteem an honourable man ;" and the word
or clause forming the complement of an intransitive verb ; as — " To lie in-
terred, — to go home, — to grow disproportioned, — to become near-sighted,^^
4fO., may generally be united to the verb in the same oratorical word.
In these cases, the verb usually takes the secondary accent ; as in the sen-
tence—" To instruct' the ig"noranty — relieve' the fiee"dy9—and com' fort
the afflict" ed^ are duties that fall in our way every day of our lives." But if this
arrangement were altered, and the object or complemental word or clause made
1 1
tSQ rhythic-4;boupoig.
to yreoBdetht Tcrfo, the bncr would take die priaanr aeoeDt ; aa — ^^Tkeiff'
norami to' iu*trmet"^tk€ need§ f ntue^'^At ^glieted tm eom"ftH^ S^.
The wr>ni§ of each group sbouU be wdl weigbed, ami the aixfnu giren ai
the jodgcmcnt mar decide.
Examples of the Elevutu Stack.
There are instances enough - of natural defects - snrmoimted, •
and eminent speakers - formed - bj inde&tigable diligence, - in
spite - of them. Demosthenes - coold not, - when he began to
stodj rhetoric, - pronounce the first letter - of the name - of his
art, - and - Cicero - was long-necked - and narrow-chested. But •
diligent - and £euthfiil labour - in what - one is in earnest about, -
surmounts all difficulties. Tet-we are commonlj enough dis-
gusted - bj public speakers - lisping - and stammering, - and •
speaking - through the nose, - and - pronouncing the letter B *
with the throat, - instead of the tongue, - and the letter S - like
Th, - and screaming above, - or croaking below - all natural pitch -
of human voice ; - some - mumbling, - as if - thej were conjuring
up spirits, - others - bawling - as loud - as the rociferons Tenders •
of provisions - in London streets ; -some - tumbling out the words-
so precipitately, - that no ear - can catch them ; - others - dragging
them out - so slowlv, - that - it is as tedious - to listen - to them - as-
to count a great clock ; - some - have got a habit - of shrugging np
their shoulders ; - others - of see-sawing - with their bodies, - some-
backward and forward, - others - from side to side ; - some - raise
their eyebrows - at every third word ; - some - open their mouths
frightfully ; - others - keep their teeth - so close together - that one
would think - their jaws - were set ; - some - shrivel all their features
together - into the middle - of their faces ; - some - push out their
lips, - as if - they were mocking the audience ; - others - hem - at
every pause ; - and others - smack - with their lips, - and roll their
tongues about - in their mouths, - as if - they laboured - under a
continual thirst. All which bad habits - they ought - to have been
cured of - in early youth, - or - put - into ways - of life - in which -
they would have, - at least, - offended fewer persons.
'Tis liberty alone - that gives - the flower -
Of fleeting life - its lustre - and perfume ; -
And - we are weeds - without it. All constraint -
Except - what wisdom - lays - on evil men -
Is evil : - hurts the faculties, - impedes
Their progress - in the road - to science ; blinds
The eyesight - of discovery ; and begets -
In those - that suffer it - a sordid mind, -
RHYTHM— GROUPING. 251
Bestial, - a meagre intellect, - unfit -
To be the tenant - of man's noble form.
The bird - let loose - in eastern skies, -
When hastening fondlj - home, -
Ne'er stoops - to earth - her wing, - or flies, -
Where idle wanderers - roam ; -
But - high she shoots - through air - and Ught, -
Above all low delaj, -
Where nothing earthly - bounds her flight, -
Or shadow - dims her way.
So - grant me, - God, - from every stain-
Of sinful passion - free, -
Aloft - through virtue's purer air, -
To steer my course - to Thee ! -
No sin - to cloud, - no lure - to stay
My soul - as - home - she springs ; -
Thy sunshine - on" her joyful way, -
Thy freedom - on her wings.
XII. Simple Relative and Restrictive dauses, — ^those ebiefly which are intro-
duced by Relative Pronouns or Prepositions, — ^may be added to the oratorical
word, when they seem necessary to complete a portion of the sense ; as^ —
" Amu'sement - W the ha,p"pmesa'Of those' that can'not think", ^^
In this stage, the nominative and verb may be united when they occur in
secondary clauses^ or when they have been previously either expressed or im-
plied in the sentence ; and also when the verb precedes its nominative ; as—
" Complaint' - is the lar'gest trib'"ute heav'en receives/' - and' the since*" rest
part' of our devo"tion.^^ " Canman conceive"- beyond' what God' can do"?^^
Examples of the Twelfth Stage.
After the death of Mr M'Cheyne, - there was found - upon his
desk - an unopened note - from one who had heard his last sermon, -
to this effect : — " Pardon a stranger - for addressing to you a few
lines. I heard you preach - last Sabbath evening, - and - it pleased
God - to bless that sermon to my soul. It was not so much - what
you said, - as your manner of saying it, - that struck me. I saw in
you - a beauty of holiness - I never saw before." This - is only
one instance - out of ten thousand, - in which - the earnestness of
a preacher's manner - has secured that attention to his matter -
which would not otherwise have been paid to it. The power
of oratory - has its foundations - in the principles of our nature.
It is vain to pretend - that matter - is, - or ought to be, - every-
252 RHYTHM— GROUPING.
thing, - and manner, - nothing. Manner - is, - so to speak, - the
harbinger - and herald of matter, - sonmioning the faculties of
the soul - to give audience to the truth to be communicated, -
and - holding the mind - in a state of abstraction from all other
subjects - that would divert the thoughts, - and preyent impression.
True wit - is Nature to advantage dressed, —
What oft was thought, - but - ne'er so well expressed ; —
Something - whose truth, - convinced at sight, - we find.
That gives us back - the image of our mind. -
As shades - more sweetlj recommend the light, -
So - modest plainness - sets off sprightly wit.
For - works - may have more wit than does them good.
As bodies - perish through excess of blood.
Some - dream - that thej can silence when thej will-
The storm of passion, - and say, - " Peace, - be still ! "
But, - " Thus far, - and no farther !" - when addressed
To the wild wave, or - wilder human breast, -
Implies authority - that never can, -
And never ought to be, - the lot of man.
'Tis but a night, - a long - and moonless night : -
We make the grave our bed, - and then - are gone.
Thus - at the shut of even, - the weary bird -
Leaves the wide air, - and - in some lonely brake -
Cowers down, - and dozes till the dawn of day, -
Then - claps his well-fledged wings, - and soars away.
TO THE BUTTERFLY.
Child of the sun ! - pursue thy rapturous flight, -
Mingling with her thou lov'st - in fields of light, -
And - where the flowers of paradise unfold, -
Quaff fragrant nectar - from tlieir cups of gold : -
There - shall thy wings, - rich as an evening sky, -
Expand and shut - with silent ecstasy.
Yet, - wert thou once a worm, — a thing - that crept
On the bare earth, - then - wrought a tomb - and slept.
And - such - is man ! - soon - from his cell - of clay-
To burst, - a seraph, - in the blaze of day. — Rogers.
We have now ascended from the simplest combinations of words
to their highest rhythmical arrangements in clauses : in doing so,
we have laid open a series of exercises of the highest utilitv to
students of Elocution. The various stages of the Art of Reading
EMPHASIS. 253
embrace every principle of Rhetorical Punctuation ; so that the
study of any other system of pausing is by these grouping exer-
cises rendered imnecessary.*
Our scheme of Reading- Exercises should be useful, not only to
the student of Elocution, but to the ordinary English learner, as an
advanced lesson, and a revisal of grammatical principles, which
may thus be j&xed more practically upon the memory than by the
ordinary exercises of the grammar class.
With reference to the articulation of the various groups, it may
be weU to caution the reader, that the words in each group are
not to be uttered in such an unbroken and dovetailed connexion
as to admit of no separatioi^ of the organs from beginning to end ;
but every principle of distinctness must be attended to. Initial
vowels must have a clear commencement, independently of the
word before them ; final vowels must be kept clear of the word
after them ; and double articulations, or unfluent combinations,
must be distinctly articulated without loss of any of their elements.
Besides this verbal articulative nicety, there may be such a
farther distinctiveness of utterance as to denote the lesser groups
within the greater ones. This need not amoimt to a pause ; the
slightest break of vocal continuity will serve the purpose. At
the end of each group there should be a decided pause, with such
a progression of voice as to indicate clearly whether what is to be
next said modifies, or is in any way connected with, what has been
uttered ; — and in what degree : or, whether what has been said
is complete in itself, and independent on what succeeds.
In case of Emphasis, words which are here the most closely con-
nected are often separated : a break in the flow of grammatical
articulation, being one of the most common and powerful means
of expressing emphasis.
We subjoin a few passages in illustration of the influence of
Emphasis on grouping. They embrace instances of the disjunc-
tion of almost every class of words which in the foregoing stages
of clausing are united. The figures refer to the different stages.
Emphatic Disjunctions.
Pleads he in earnest ? Look upon his face :
His eyes do drop no tears ; — ^his prayers are jest ;
His words come from his mouth ; ours from our breast ;
^ The Student is referred to the chapter on Modulation for an important
and most effective principle of clansular arrangement, which may be considered
as a further, and the final stage of Grouping^
SH OBOUFINO— EUPHASIS.
Hg* - praja bat faint];, and wonLd be denied i
We* - praj with heart and aonl, and all beside.
There are e. eort of men whose nsagea.
Do cream and mantle like a Handing ymd ;
And do a wilAd edllnesa enterloin.
With pnipoee to be dressed in on o[Mnion
Of wisdom, gravity, profound oonoeit.
As who ahould oaj, I' - am* - Sir Oracle,
And when 1* - ope mj tips, let no dog baik'
0, Sir, ycmi* • booest; is remarkable,
Hear him, mj lord ; he's* - wondnxu OOadeBoeudiajf.
Hark the' - bumility of* - shepherd Norral.
Here, under leave of Bmtus and tiie rest, —
For Brntna ia an' - honourable man—
So are thej all, aU honooiable men, —
Come I to speak in Ciesar's iimeral.
He* - laised a mortal to the skiea,
8he*_- drew an angel down.
This ooimptible moBt put on" - incorrapliou, and thia mortal, i
immortalitj.
If a Jew wrong a Cbrisdan, what is hia' — homilitj ? Berenge.
tjan wrong a Jew, what should hie' . sufferance be, b;* - Cfaristiut'
Why, revenge 1
Still it cried, " Sleep no more I" to all the hoiue,
" Glamia bath murdered sleep, and therefore Cawdor
Shall* - sleep" - no* - more."
And Nathan said unto David, Thou* - art the man.
b there no placQ
Left for repmlance ? None for pardon left ? ^
None left but by* - submisiiort ; and that word
Ksdain forbids me.
'Twere well, if here will end
The misery ; I deserved it, and would bear
Hy own deservings ; but this will not serve : —
All that I eat, or drink, or ahaU beget,
h*^^yiagaled curse I
Iiet me tell you, CaBeina, you yourself
Are much condemued to have" — an' itching palm 1
Shall I Iwnd low, and, in a bondman's key,
With bat«d breadi and whispering hnmUeneas,
Say this—
GROUPING^EMPHASIS. 255
^^ Fair Sir I jouf - ^it on me, on Wednesday last ;
Yon flpnmed me, sooh a day ; another time
You called me" - dog ; and for these^ - courtesies^
I'll lend you thus much monies.
" Well, how's the patient ?" Bolus said.
John sho(^ his head.
" Indeed ! hum I^^ha I that's veiy odd I
He took the draught?" i(Am gave a nod.
" Well ! how! what then? — speak out, you dunce."
" Why, then," says John, "We* - shook him «» - once."
Not to detain you from a thing so strange,
A gentleman who lives not far from 'Change,
This week, in short, as all the alley knows,
Taking a puke, has thrown up - ^^ three Black Crows. .
Did you, sir, throw up — " a black' - crow ? " Not I,"
" At the last I did' - throw up, and told my neighbour so,
Something that was' - as black, sir,'as a crow."
No man could better ^d a pill,
Or^ make a bill.
Or* mix a draught, or* bleed, or' blister ;
Or draw a tooth out of your head.
Or chatter scandal by your bed,
Oi' spread a plaster.
Emphasis is commonly considered to be merely an increased
stress of voice or articulation ; but there is an Emphasis of Timey
produced by a slower or quicker rate of utterance ; an Emphasis
of Modulation^ by a change, as it were, of the key-note to a higher
or lower pitch ; an Emphasis of Inflexion, by a sweep of the voice
upwards or downwards ; an Emphasis of Monotone, by a solemn,
little-varying movement of the voice ; an Emphasis of Aspiration^
by a sighing, husky, or choking expression of the voice; an
Emphasis of Whisper even ; and, combined with nearly all these
modes of giving prominence to words, the Emphasis of Pause, as
we have seen — ^besides the Emphasis of Force or Stress, which is
vulgarly considered the type of all Emphasis.
The reason of the peculiarly emphatic power of Pauses, as ex-
emplified in the passages above cited, is, that the mind naturally
looks for the immediate sequence of those words which are neces-
sary to give it a distinct and perfect impression ; and if a pause
be made when the sense is so incomplete as not naturally to ad-
mit of one, the attention will be roused, and expectation, and even
266 0R0UPIN6_EM:PHAj91S.
curiositj, excited— on the watch for the consuxmnation of the sai
In proportion to the degree of hiatus made, and the change
modulation, force, time, &c., assumed on the emphatic uttenuK
will he the degree of the emphasis, and the satisfactory fiilfihn6i
of the expectation raised.
When the preparation for important emphasis is thus made
hefore words which are too insignificant to be so di^ified, we
feel a vexatious disappointment on their utterance. This prin-
ciple is therefore one of the most effective in giving point to anj-
thing comic or ludicrous. The hearer is tricked into expectatioii ;
and, when a moimtain seems in lahour, lo ! there comes forth a
mouse !
Thus in the following little piece, if all but the last two lines
are feelingly read, we shall he inclined to buffet the reader when
at last he comes to the climax. But indeed the reader himself
maj he more ludicrously deceived by this than the hearer. For
this purpose the effect will be best secured by writing the lines so
as to render a turn-over necessary for the denouement.
THE CONFESSION.
There^s somewhat on my breast, Father, My kin are leal and true, Father,
There^s somewhat on my breast ! They mourn to see my grief;
The livelong day I sigh, Father ; But, oh ! *tis not a kinsman^s hand
At night I cannot rest. Can give my heart relief.
I cannot take my rest, Father, Tis not my love is false, Fath^,
Though I would fain do so ; *Tis not that she^s unkind ;
A weary weight oppresseth me. Though busy flatterers swarm around,
The weary weight of woe ! I know her constant mind :
*Tis not the lack of gold. Father, ^Tis not her coldness, Father,
The lack of worldly gear ; That pains my labouring bi^ast ;
My lands are broad, and fair to see, *Tis — that confounded encumber
My friends are kind and dear ; I ate, and can^t digest.
In concluding this part of our subject, we have only farther to
remark, that the close of a period should be generally indicated
in reading, by a closer rhythm, — a more frequent recurrence of
accent — and less connectedness of grouping, than throughout the
rest of the period. This enables the reader to impress the last
words more strongly and with more point than could be generallT
maintained throughout a sentence ; secures his ease ; and prevents
the awkwardness of a panting, breathless, *' coming in ;" and be-
sides, imparts a manifest dignity to the conclusion.
PART FIFTH.
INFLEXION.
The tones of the voice in Speech, have a characteristic formation
which distinguishes them from the tones of the voice in song.
The latter are contintmtions of given length on even musical sounds,
— ^monotones ; and the former are inflexions of greater or less ex-
tent, upwards or downwards from the tone on which they begin.
The progression of the scale in singing is by a bound or leap over
the interval from note to note, so^ that no intermediate sound
is formed between those which are the object of effort ; and the
progression of speaking-tones is by a sweep of the voice over all
the intervals, so that every intermediate sound is touched in the
progress of the inflexion.
Sometimes an inflected formation of voice is used in singing ;
and it is, especially in plaintive passages, productive of flne effect ;
and sometimes a degree of the monotonous formation is employed
in speech ; but rarely, — and then chiefly for the expression of
solemn or plaintive sentiments. But a perfect monotone has no
place in speech, and an ordinary speaking-inflexion is never found
in song. The similar sounds which we have stated to be occa-
sionally employed, may be properly called Inflected.Monotones :
they are prolongations of a commencing tone, finished by inflexion.
The three modes of vocal progression may be analogically repre-
sented thus.
Monotone — Song. Inflected Monotone. Inflexion — Speech.
All spoken sounds, however abrupt, have, correctly, the in-
flected formation ; though an ear unaccustomed to very accurate
observation might not readily detect it in the little tittles of sound
heard in many of our syllables, — it^ at, ate, up, &c. But sufli-
ciently close attention will discover inflexion in the shortest, as
well as in the longest of our sounds. Those prolonged monotones
which are heard in what is called a sing-song delivery, are, there-
Kk
268 INFLEXION.
fore, barbarisms ; they belong neither to B])eech nor song : they
are a sort of recitative, passionless, senseless, and unnatural, to
which, nevertheless, good sentiments are often chanted and
drawled by worthy men.
Animated conversation is the most inflected kind of speech, and
the language of solemn warning or of prayer, the least inflected.
Reading, and speaking from memory, are generally much less
inflected, and therefore less natural, agreeable, and impressive,
than conversation and extemporaneous delivery ; and that reading
must be considered the best which approaches most nearlj in its
tones to conversational and extemporal variety.
Even the most effective speakers, — ^those who are perfectly free
from any drawling, tune, or sing-song, — can seldom giye utteranoe
to a studied address with the same spontaneity of tone and man-
ner which characterizes a perfectly extemporary delivery ; jet such
might easily do so, or at least make a very close approximation to
this, by a little art, and by art of such a nature that none need
hesitate to practise it ; for it would infaUibly tend to " hide itself/*
and so fulfil the conditions of artistic perfection : — " the Art iUelf
18 Nature,'*
But our observations on this the highest attainment in delivery
would be premature in this place, and perhaps, in some degree,
unintelligible, without the necessary explanations and illustrations
of the mechanism and application of inflexions, which we shall,
therefore, in the first place offer.
The subject of Inflexion has been more fully treated by most
authors than any other department of Elocution ; and the mass
of Rules, Observations, and Examples which they have accumu-
lated, have so overloaded the simple natural principles that lie at
the bottom of all genuine rules, that not one student in fifty can
discover them. The consequence too often is, that Elocutiimaiy
students either throw up the study, in disgust at the stiff unna-
tural mannerism it seeks to impart ; or, less fortunately, per-
haps, imbibing something of its principles, awkwardly endea-
vour their adoption, in ignorance of a better directory ; or else,
judging ^^ Elocution" to be, what it too often really seems, a thing
of no fixed principles, but, regulated only by taste or ci^nioe,
form systems of their own, founded on some favourite model, or
on a combination of incongruous models ; and thus gradually swell
the ranks of tuneful ranters, and level drawlers.
INFLEXION. 269
Elocution, according to the great majority of system-makers,
appears to be nothing else than the management of Inflexion.
Ask them " what is the chief point in Delivery ?** Repeat, and
reiterate the question. The answer is still the same, " Inflexion i"
The ancients, who better understood the subject, thought other-
wise ; ind their oft-cited foreman Demosthenes, the most honour-
able example of excellence attained by persevering effort, and in
spite, too, of habitual and physical drawbacks, said otherwise, and
acted on a very different principle. When he determined to
qualify himself for oratory, he wisely and rationally began with
his articulation. This is recorded for our example I and when
we imitate it, we, like him, shall find a certain and direct way to
natural eloquence, whatever may be the sphere in which it is to
be exerted.
Oratory was of old a very comprehensive subject, and its study
was the labour of a life. It included the arts of Logic, Rhetoric,
and almost every department of general knowledge, and mental
and moral discipline, as well as Pronunciation, or what we now
call Elocution or Delivery. Hoary hairs were considered indis-
pensable to the consummate orator, whose laborious preparations
were supposed to require the length and vigour of the youth and
prime of life. Consistently with this. Oratory was emblematized
under the figure of an Old Man ; threads of amber issuing from
his lips, and winding into the ears of gaping auditors. Our orators
expect to jump into the rostrum, and oratorical ability, at once ;
and without preparation even for the first and most indispensable
requisite of public speaking, — Articulation. Our learned men
affect to despise the very name of oratory. May not the reason
be, — they are not orators ? They feel not, nor know the power
of Eloquence. They can prepare the beautiful anatomy of a
discourse, or declamation, but to animate it with the voice, the
look, the action of natural utterance, is beyond their skill ; it falls
lifeless from their hands : or, if it struggle into breath, its life is
that of the crawling insect, spumily trailing along beneath us»
and not that of the bold soaring eagle, elevating the eye into
dazzling regions, and towering among scenes of grandeur and
sublimity.
Demosthenes, in the zenith of his oratorical greatness, declared
the most important part of a speaker's study to lie in Delivery.
Matter was practically confessed to be much, but manner he, from
mf'.iSSiior.
uif. HmtM0*.^t if- im itPtr.
VMM. ip^lu^ justi'niM' * itmifttsnr* «£
^.10^^^^ lit- ti^ Mffruft ti? niiMtiurluf innnri» uE
itiofx^ itSfp'i- rtUst, -iuiej mwoL istmt vassxraat -u
iMi$ M' Mfeiei&tt^ yupi vm. jadH -u ssoamaie bus Jtfffc
Ik IkdP^ lUiMi 9^ fftwMdM 'ti^ laK: rracoB if Mr
^)MiM fcMT^i; Im«i iflKmu&dl titniMir ^hfapiei f»
4^4«7 i^mkim. UUtttf %^ Mate vat ^ thsat
^ Iw4;mm, ttt thif Earn orini^ West, dbe Xotk «r Ite SotA
^ Kftl^fcMd, «M lutt! One; fYftcm of WalkA ml a&Lwtdii^ to Us
nik% tbfM^ not ^cvm; <^ tbem maj agree vith anotiier in ic^aid
Uf Om iuUsfwsA €^ tlie extent of the inflezkn ; and idnk^ in &ct»
tbejr ate tnereljT tes^lmg their cnm mann^ to the pi^iL"
AUmnfU hare been made to reduce the inflexions of tiio peak-
ing roiee to accurate momcal measurement^ and to €ana a ajBtem
of notation to enable one to read the tones, as well as the woids
of an author, as is done in sbging ; but no success has hitherto
attended the«e »y»tem«, nor do we think it erer can. Twenty
good readers may each differ from the others in their deliyery of
a Belectod pa»»age, in regard to the extent, and often, even, the
direction of the inflexioiiB ; and jet all bring out the full expressive-
INFLEXION. 261
ness of the words. There must be points in which all coincide ; but
such a latitude of inflexion may there be, and so much of habit
and idiocrasj is there in the wavings of the yoice, that, even were
it possible to note the evanescent sounds with sufficient accuracy,
no good speaker could be fettered to the precise tones of another,
perhaps of opposite temperament, without losing the higher guid-
ance of his own mind. His thought and utterance are so asso-
ciated, that, if he think, he cannot attend to a close uniformity of
tones ; and if he follow a minute directory for his voice, he will
be unable to think. We do not, therefore, propose to enter into
a minutely musical analysis of inflexions, but to speak of their
mechanism, extent, and application, on proportional and very
general principles, and with reference, chiefly, to their association
with particular states of mind and feeling.
MECHANISM OF THE INFLEXIONS.
The tones of the speaking voice are, we have said, always in
acute or grave progression : they do not dwell monotonously on
any note. There are but two modes of vocal progression, — namely,
upwards and downwards in the musical scale, — and, consequently,
there are but two simple inflexions. Each inflexion has an opening
force and fulness, from which it tapers softly to its acute or grave
termination. The beginning of the inflexion is therefore the em-
phatic part, — that which strikes the ear most forcibly : and, as
the inflexions are named " rising" or " falling," from their pro-
gression upwards or downwards, without reference to the pitch of
their commencing note, some confusion often arises at first between
the name and the sound, from their apparent opposition, in abrupt
and emphatic inflexions. For, the more emphatic an inflexion is,
the lower it begins when it is called rising, and the higher it begins
when it is named falling.
To illustrate this, let us assume a scale of 7 points from which
inflexions may be pitched. A cultivated voice will be capable of
a much greater variety, but these will be sufficient for our illus-
trations. Let us represent these 7 radical points by a notation
in the spaces of a staff of 8 lines. Thus, —
Rising, FdOing
\7^ :::::: \ ^
16 ^ .•;;:: 1 -^ •-
1 & • • • • 1 ^^^
A • • • 1 ^^ •• • •
1 H . . 1 ^s . • . •
1 V ^^ 1 • • • •
12 ^ ; 1 -^ •.-.•. •. •.
11 ^ 1 -^ ........ ..
■J*
292 INFLEXION.
No. 1, reprcsenU the lowest tone from which a rise can be made :
No. 7, the highest from which afiidl can be commenced ; and No.
i, the middle tone of the Toice.
To make an extended rui$kg inflexion, as in the indignant
utterance of the pronoon I, — '^/ — on ticking paUnr^ the icko
must begin considerablj below the middie <one, to prevent its
squeaking and cracking beyond manageable limits as the inflexioQ
rises ; and to form an emphatic falling inflexion, as in the sbron^j
assertive, boastful utterance of the same word, — ^-^Be buried qidek
tnih her, and to will //' — ^the inflexion most begin considerablj
above the middle tone, or it will not have space to descend without
croaking hoarselj beyond vocalizing limits.
In proportion, then, to the emphasis of an inflexion, will be the
distance of its radical point above or below the middle tone of the
vocal register. An ordinary and unimpassioned inflexion maybe
carried to as high or low a vanishing-point as the most emphatic
and passionate ; but the actual length of inflexion will generallj
be greater according to its passionate force ; the increase braig
produced by elevation or depression of the intensive part,-4he
beginning of the inflexion.
This principle is of much importance to public speakers^ whtfe
general ignorance of it, evidenced by Uieir strained voices screaming
up an inflexion to the cracking point, or falling into voicelessnesi
or whisper, is, doubtless, in great part, owing to the almost uni-
versal silence of Elocutionary books upon the subject.
In very «Aor^ syllables, the terms *' Rising" and " Falling*' seem
at first sight to be completely misapplied ; for, as the otion^i
cannot be increased to accommodate the inflexions, the voice is
strongly depressed, with a barely perceptible succeeding elevation,
when the inflexion is emphatically rising ; and it is abruptly eU-
vated, without material on which to descend, when it forms an
emphatic falling inflexion.
Our notation of the Inflexions is founded on this principle :-*
The Rising Mark ( •^ ) we place hehw the accented vowel ; which
indicates to the eye that the inflexion is conunenced below the
middle tone : and the Falling Mark ( ev ) we place above the
accented vowel, to denote that the inflexion is commenced abore
the middle tone :
Thus, envy, pronounced -^ ^^^^J' pronounced <?5__
INFLEXION. 2(53
In some cases the inflexions do not range from below above, or
from above below the middle tone ; but are confined in their
whole extent above or below it. The falling inflexion must veiy
frequently be thus performed below the middle tone, to give per-
fect completeness and conclusiveness to an utterance that is not
emphatic. The notation of these inflexions is envj, enmity, &c.,
envy, enmity, &c., pronounced, —
y tf
V mi
en «n
Middle Tone. ^ ^
«n ea
V mi
7 ty
When a speaker's inflexions are habitually confined below the
middle tone, we say his voice is " low set;'* wlien above the middle
tone, we say he has a high voice. An effective reader or speaker
should be able to take a varied range both above and below the
middle tone.
Let the student exercise his voice in forming the simple in-
flexions with as much variety as possible. Let him produce at
least three or four degrees of pitch, above and below the middle
tone, and carry each inflexion to different degrees of acuteness
or gravity. The long vowels and diphthongs
1 S-l '4 7 7-1 718 8 9-8 10 10-1 ll-B 12-13 18
e, a, eh, ah, i, ou, ir, ur, aw, oi, ore, oh, oo.
and syllables compounded of any of the vowels with the liquids L,
M, N, ng, will furnish the best inflective material for this exercise.
The student will be assisted in acquiring a natural flexibility
of voice by noting that the rising turns are expressive of uncer-
tainty, interrogation, surprise, or plaintive exclamation : and that
those of the falling formation are of a positive, dogmatical, man-
datory nature. If therefore habit, or a defective ear, render the
mechanism of the inflexions difficult, let the student throw passion
into them, and nature will help him out with the strong inflexions,
which he has only to soften and reduce, in order to make all the
lesser degrees.
The tables of syllabic quantities (pages 67 to 69 ) should now
be practised with these two inflexions, beginning with the longest
syllables, and taking the shortest last, because their abruptness
264 INFLEXION.
renders their inflection difficult of execution as well as obseryati
By reading each syllable with both inflexions in contrast—/!
rising first — full command over them will soon be attained.
The table of words at pages 70-72 should next be inBectiveljprac
tised. Being all accented on the first syllable, thej are of tk
easiest class. The practice of them for a short time abouli
render the ear and organs sufficieatlj accustomed to the pnndjk
of simple inflexion, to enable the student to take his next eieick
on words of various accentuation.
In order to acquire the great charm of a melodioos variety rf
inflexion, let the following principles be carefuUj attended to.
The emphatic part of each inflexion must be thrown on the
accented syllable of the word : and in order to give it the mow
obvious elevation or depression, as well as for the sake of a mdo-
dious intonation, any unaccented syllable before the accent most
be pronounced with a preparatory opposition of inflexioa Mate-
rial for practice will be found in the columns of yerbs at page 223.
To give these words the rising inflexion, begin the unaccented
syllable on or above the middle tone ; and to give them the fell-
ing inflexion, pronounce the unaccented syllable below the middle
tone : the accented syllable being then struck- forcibly in the
opposite direction, — to the point from which it is to proceed up-
wards or downwards— the words will have their highest inflectiTe
effect Thus : —
Biting.
F' de V?
com *• , '
JUid dl0 o y aa n d? *
ToM~~ be g " i^ ■ —
^* 81 a .^
'•^ po «
ri
Marked obey, assign ; compound, derisively.
9
•s CO ^
Middle wa r m • .
Time, a y d ~ ~ ~~—
de '
Marked B,w&j, accord; extremes, decidedly.
The words containing two or more accents, tabled from page 224
to 226, should now be practised on the same principle. When the
INFLEXION. 266
secondary accent is on the first syllable, let the preparatory rise
or fall be well marked on it, but distinguish the primary accent
by a distinctly greater force of inflexion. Thus: —
Biting, Failing,
su ^.^ stand
per dant di« ly
Middle in o ni
Tone. ent der ri
un ing
ten di •^ ae oaa
•^ be ^
•
Marked superiutondant, disobediently, understanding, acrimonious.
••^ -.•^
When the word begins with an unaccented syllable, the voice
marks on it a preparatory opposition of inflexion, as in the dis-
syllables before noticed. Words of this syllabication, then, have
three vocal turns : — the leading inflexion on the accent, is pre-
pared for by the secondary, which is itself introduced by a pre-
paratory turn on the antecedent syllable. Thus :
••^^f. Marked
^^ cation,
peuetra . . i 'i*.
Middle dig imponetrabiuty,
Tone* im ••^
qnalifi .^.^
j^.j.^ , ^ disqualification.
When the word has two secondary accents, the one before the
primary will take the preparatory opposition of inflexion, and the
first secondary will, similarly, take a preparatory inflexion for the
other. Thus :
•f^^ Marked
navi •^ Circumnavigation,
Middle inoontro **^
— .
Tone, circnm
gation? verti incontrovertibility.
Or, another perfectly admissible mode of inflecting such words,
is, to give the first secondary accent the preparatory rise or fall for
the primary, and the intermediate secondary a more limited in-
flexion in the same direction as the first ; beginning either on the
same note on which the first inflexion terminated, or thrown back
a little. Thus : —
i5i?*„ Marked
anti
Middle pesti ^
Tone, munica
lential incom
antipestilential^
incommunicabilitj.
Ll
-♦
».<«,
UttlhfUftfn, tffti4(^ i^fK;iiftUitr^miikt InM, that die
'f^ UfftiffltHi fHfl4f4 uptfti i)t49m mhj repreteai the seren
cf tiie
INFLEXION.
207
iutervals ot the second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, and
octave. Bat since these intervals are not all composed of whole
tones, an altei*ation of the staff would be necessary to represent
them with proportional accuracy.
The musical student of speech maj easily measure the inter-
vals of his inflexions with the help of an instrument, by sounding
the extreme notes of each interval, and sweeping his voice from
one to the other ; and he will find our symbols applfcable for a
strictly correct notation, if he think the subject worthy of so
minute attention. We have contented ourselves with such an ar-
rangement as speaks to the eye, without carefully consulting
accuracy to the ear.
The following staff shows the musical succession of intervals in
the octavo. The broad spaces represent fuU tones, and the
narrow spaces semitones. The notation shows a rise and a fall
through each of the intervals.
8tfa
.* :
7th
*^
J •
6th
• - •
•
• •
• •
5th
•
•
•
• • •
* * *
• • •
•
•
4di •*-
•
• - •
• • •
•
Srd #K •* * •
•
• • *
.
2ud ^. . • .•
• . • •' .
•
•
•^
.•
This is the major mode of the diatonic scale. The intervals
of the minor mode differ only in the extent of the first third, which
consists of but one tone and a half, or three semitones, instead of
two tones, or four semitones, as above. The interval of the minor
third has a plaintively querulous effect ; and the interval of the
semitone is the universal expression of all ordinary plaintive sen-
timents. The student should practise inflexions on these latter
intervals in order to acquire a naturally effective modulation of
plaintive passages.
To the unmusical student it wiU be necessary to say something
for his direction in the formation of chromatic or plaintive in-
flexions. Let him take as a key-sound the cry of "J'lre," which,
as has been observed by Dr Rush, is universally uttered on the
interval of a semitone.
Throw natural feeling into this word, and then, alternately with
it, pronounce, with the same inflexion, the vowels, or any words of
268 INFLEXION.
fear or sadness, and the ear will soon learn to recognise, and the
Toice to produce, the semi-tonic interval.
^ fire
fin
Jiiddi0 Kira
Otis,
ah ! {^as ! well a day !
• ah me ! farewell ! adieu !
The ordinary inflection of unemphatic words is through the in*
terval of a second — a full tone— or if plaintiye, of a semitone. The
interval of a third is the conunon extent of a suspensiye or con-
clusive turn ; or, if emphatic, the interval of a fifth. The interval
of the minor third is that of plaintive exclamation and interro-
gation ; and the language of strong passion is generally uttered on
the interval of the octave.
When, at the conclusion of a sentence, the voice flEdls only one
tone, or through the interval of a second, the eflSdct upon the
hearer is satisfactory enough with respect to the completion of
sense ; but it is at the same time unsatisfactory, as leading him
to expect the addition of something more, by way of illustration
or enforcement. The inflexion is inconclusive and continuaiioe;
and, if nothing more be added, the hearer will feel disappointed,
and unconvinced, however strong and convincing may have been
the speaker's language. The tone is inconfident, — expressive of
uncertainty and indecision, and therefore cannot carry conviction
to a hearer. An utterance that is meant to be conclusive^ cannot
fall less than through the interval of a third ; and in proportion
to its emphasis, positiveness, and passion, it will range from that
to a fifth or an octave.
When, at the end of a clause or sentence, the voice rises through
one tone only, or the interval of a second the inflexion is fullj
expressive of incompleteness of sense, but it does not lead the
hearer to anticipate the immediate consummation of the sense * the
tone is progressive, not preparatory. A rise which is intended to
excite the hearer's attention to the conclusive utterance to be next
spoken, cannot be less than through the interval of a third * and
in proportion to its emphasis of suspension — its quemlousness and
passion, it will range from that to the extent of a fifth or octave.
Our notation of the simple inflexions may be understood to
represent these musical intervals. Thus, ^£?' ?^» _ ath, sui,
INFLEXION. 269
We do not profess, however, to be able by these marks to denote
the inflexions with strict musical accuracy. We have no means
of showing the infinite variety of radical points from which the
well-proportioned inflexions of an effective speaker will be pitched.
We only aim at representing degrees of inflexion which are
relatively greater or less, and the radical points of which are
above or below an assumed middle tone of voice.
Compound Inflexions.— Circumflexes or Waves.
The two modes of vocal progression united on one syllabic
utterance, or pn the syllables of one accentual utterance, form
those expressive compound inflexions, called circumflexes, or more
accurately, as Dr Rush has named them, waves. These vocal
waves are very common in all natural speaking. They are
capable of much variety by the different proportion of their parts,
A strong rise (of course beginning low) may be united to a fall
of a semitone or an octave, or of any extent ; and a full downward
sweep may be blended with an equal variety of rising intervals.
The following notation analytically illustrates the mechanism of
the Wave, and the use of the typographic character by which we
represent this vocal turn. —
Ruing Wow. FaXting Wave.
Middle ar ry hon ty oe d.
lone. n es ia e
bit
^ quia in
lib ly ex ite de d
Marked arbitrary, honesty, indeed ; liberally, exquisite, indeed.
The mark for the Rising Wave is placed ab(yce the accented
syllable, because the inflexion begins and ends high: and the
mark for the Falling Wave is placed hehw the accent, because
the inflexion begins and ends low. These compound inflexions,
like the simple ones, sjways commence on the accented syllable,
and the same principles of preparatory infleodon which we have
exemplified in treating of the simple inflexions, apply to the ut-
terance of words or passages bontaining these compound turns.
(See pages 264 and 265).
As we directed the student to practise the simple inflexions in
their most extensive ranges at first, and by the association with
them of the feelings which they naturally express, so, also, we
recommend him to practise the mechanism of these compound
inflexions in their most emphatic forms at first, and with the
association of those sentiments which they naturally express.
The circumflexed or waved inflexions generally give to language
270
INFLEXION.
an allusive or referential expresiiveness, or add to it a meaning
which the words do not literallj convej. Thus, the Ridng Yfvn
is used for Suggestive Emphasis — ^it is the appropriate intonatkn
of inuendo ; — and the Falling waye for Positive Smphasii^with
an allasiTo or referential effect This vocal progression is the
intonation of derision and irony. The Riaiiig Wave is used
suggestiyoly, when Brutus says to Cassias —
'* For I can raise no money by vile means :"
it insinuates and hints at, rather than openlj expresses, an accu-
sation. The Falling Wave positively and unmistakeably points
an accusation, as when
*' Nathan said unto David, ' Thau art the man !* "
*x^
As a general principle, it may be affirmed that words intended
to be imderstood literally, should be inflected with simple tonu—
which are the invariable intonations of candonr, sincerity, snd
artlessness : — while words to be accepted in some peculiar, figu-
rative,— or with some added — sense, require the comipoundtoins,
which are the natural intonation of artifice. Figurative laogoage
of every kind abounds with circumflexes.
In the following sentence, the Rising and Falling Waves an
brought naturally in contrast : —
*' Oh ! indeed I if you said so — ^then I meant so."
If we supply the words referentially impUed by these eircumflexee^
we may bring into contrast the simple and compound inflenons of
each class. Thus : —
€^
*' Oh ! indeed ! if you said so, and not so, then I meant so, and
not so."
The student should practise this waving formation of voice on
vowels, on syllables, on words, and on sentences, until he is able
to produce several varieties of each kind from the same commen-
cing note, with different degrees of force and expressiveness,—
plaintively and otherwise. In his practice, let him bear in mind
that the circumflexes are merely combinations of the simple in-
flexions. The first or emphatic part of a Rising Wave is Sk falling
tarn : — this conveys a positive effect : — and the concluding part
is a rise, which qualifies the positivoness of the first turn by its
doubtful and querulous expressiveness. Thus : —
INFLEXION. 271
" ! sir, your honesty is remarkable !'*
The first or emphatic part of a Falling Waye is a rising turn,
the effect of which is appellatory, or interrogative ; and the sub-
sequent fall which finishes the inflexion adds to this an expression
of positiveness and conviction. Thus :—
'' So, then, vqu are the author of this conspiracy against me ?
It is to you I am indebted for all the mischief that has befallenme.*'
•••^
APPLICATION OF THE INFLEXIONS.
Governing the application of the vocal inflexions to sentences,
we find principles equally simple with those which we have shown
to regulate their mechanism, and their arrangements on syllables.
As all inflexions may be resolved into two kinds, — upward and
downward, — so all rules for their application may be resolved
into two corresponding, general,
Fuin)AMENTAL PRINCIPLES.
The rising progression connects what has been said
with what is to be uttered, or with what the speaker
wishes to be implied or supplied by the hearer ; and
this, with more or less closeness^ qiterulousness, and
passion^ in proportion to the force and extent of the rise.
The falling progression disconnects what has been said
from whatever may follow ; and this with more or less
completeness, exclasiveness, and passion, in proportion
to the force and extent of the fall.
The rising inflexion is, thus,
invariably associated with what
is incomplete in sense ; or, if ap-
parently complete, dependent on,
or modified by what follows ; with
whatever is relative to something
expressed, or to be implied ; and
with what is doubtful, interroga-
tive, or supplicatory.
The rising inflexion is thus, also, the natural intonation of all
attractive sentiments — ^love, admiration, pity, &c. ; and the falling,
of all repulsive sentiments — anger, hatred, reproach, contempt, &c.
The falling inflexion is, thus,
invariably associated with what
is complete and independent in
sense, or intended to be received
as such ; with whatever is positive
and exclusive ; and with what is
confidently assertive, dogmatical^
or mandatory.
272 INFLEXION. .
The degree in which any sentence either necessarily conveys
these sentiments, or is intended to express or insinuate them,
corresponds to the degree in which the inflexions move upwards
or downwards ; the intensity of the feeling to be expressed being
denoted by the force and distance from the middle tone of the
commencement, or emphatic part of the inflexion.
The shorter ranges of inflexion, or sometimes extensire degree^
— but feeble, and, consequently, unemphatic, — ^are employed as
preparatory to the principal inflexions of a sentence. The melodj
of speech requires that eyery emphatic inflexion should be pre-^
ceded by an inflexion in the opposite mode — a rise before a Mi
a fall before a rise. The mechanism of the inflexions explains the
reason of this : the rise before the fall carries the voice up towards
the eleyated pitch from which the fall begins ; and the fall Wom
the rise takes the yoice, without the gracelessness of a jerk,
downwards towards the low point from which the rise is to be
commenced.
The inflexions are thus always in contrast ; the sense or feeling
dictating the direction of the principal inflexions, and these regn-
lating that of the subordinate ones : but not their extent; for this
is under the sole guidance of the reader's taste and judgment
The extent of the inflexions remains the test of his refinement of
ear, and cultiyation of yoice, as well as of his power of discrimi-
nating the nicer shades of sense and sentiment.
We shall now examine the yarious kinds of sentences and
members of sentences which Elocutionists have ranged under
rules multitudinous, and endeayour to show in all of them
the working of the two general inflectiye principles which we hare
stated. If we can discoyer that these are the fundamental prin-
ciples of all the rules — that eyery natural direction is but an
application of one of them ; then, the simplest and easiest way
to learn to apply the sentential rules of Elocutionists, will be to
study alone these our rulers of rules. We shall take first those
sentences or clauses which terminate with a rising inflexion.
These are, according to Mr Walker and his followers, the Jir«t
part of a compact sentence ; tlie penultimate member of a sentence;
negative sentences ; concessive sentences ; the first part of an an-
tithesis ; qmstions commencing with a verb ; words repeated or
echoed.
INFLEXION. 273
Rising Inflexions.
The First Part of a Compact Sentence. — Compact sentences are those
wb|ch do not admit of division into portions in themselves complete, and ex-
pressive of perfect sense. Mr Walker divides compact sentences into direct and
inverted periods ; and while he dictates the same inflexion at the end of the first
part of each, manages to make for them four Rules^ and one Exceptive Rule,
The first class of direct periods consists of those whose two principal construc-
tive parts begin with correspondent conjunctions.
Example: — '•^ As we cannot discern the shadow moving along the dial-plate,
80 the advances we make in knowledge are only perceived by the distance
gone over."
Here, at the end of the first part, the sense is obviously incomplete, and our
fundamental principle is itself the rule. The second class are those periods whose
first part only commences with a conjunction ; but in all the examples given^
— ^^ Asin my speculations^^ Sfc. ; ** If impudence prevailed as much,''^ f^, ;
" If I have any geniuSy*^ Sfc, ; " If after surveying the whole earth atonce^^
SfC, the correspondent conjunctions, " so," or " therefore^^^ '* ^en," &c. are
plainly to be understood ; and this rule, founded merely on a common ellipsis,
is but a repetition of the first.
The third dass includes those sentences which commence with a partidple —
of the present or past tense ; to which Mr Ewing adds, under a separate Bule,
sentences depending on adjectives ; but in these also our fimdamental prindple
furnishes the rule, as the sense must be incomplete at the end of the participial
or adjective clause.
Examples : — *^ Having existed fi'om all eternity — God, through all eternity must
continue to exist."
^* Destitute of the favour of Gk>d, — ^you are in no better situation, with all
your supposed abilities, than orplians left to wander in a trackless desert."
To his third rule Mr Walker states the following exception : — ^* When t)ie last
word of the first part of these sentences requires the strong emphasis^ the falling
inflexion must be used mstead of the rising." The very modified fall which we
have denominated continuative,* is the only falling inflexion that would not
be altogether inadmissible here. Notwithstanding the numerous book-followers
of the theory, we have no hesitation in saying that this rule is a mistake. It
would have been correct^ had it stated that the clause required the falling as
well as^ but not instead of, the rising inflexion ; that is, a rising circumflex :
but it is then no exception to the general rule. The connexion in sense demands
a rising, connective inflexion ; and by means of the wave, the strong emphasis
may also be expressed without interfering with the final progression.
Example : — ^' Hannibal, being fi*equently destitute of money and provisions,
with no recruits of strength in case of ill -fortune, and no encouragement
•^^
even when successful ; it is not to be wondered at that his aflairs began at
length to decline."
Page 268.
M m
174
IXFUXI05.
The Dezt aiid la« ki»l of ooai|ittet MBltBoe ■ whM Mr Wafter ciflb tbe '' !■-
vcftai pcriudr tl^ i>> a toitcnoe, «*tfaefinipaii4Sr
bf iladf, bat » modiiiad or deccnnined in \u
The hKkmiDg, imoag other len t gnc e i of i
ExampUs : — *'*' Gradsn tctt often
yerftoioa of an aeoooipfiihed miB.** — *•
be pleiied — at the Mine time ther are
la tbete examplei, the fint paits aiigbt
wiitBicea ; but nioe tber do not, m this cowmxmm, /b
the fkiiig inflezioo is reqidred bj the fiimJiif nla l fiiMJiiV^
In the sceond inatanee, the word pleaaed bem^
with inforwted, is in the tame prediaBneal aa die wind wmeceagfidm
the Meood ■entence p rece din g ; and to give it emph a iaB witlMMit loaa of^
tiOB^itaniitbeprooo uu cedeitherwithaco arttaol tWrybllyOrwMia
Ths PKKULTiMA'nE MEMBCTt, — ^A lianginfleiioB ia ^ fi iw uiwl bj Mr Wak
to be alwajs given to ^* the member of a aaitence imniediatidj fawj c dui g tk
UhL** This principle is the subject of two Eoles and aevenl ^^^ifftStmrn. Of
what yabe can the rules be when such a se nt mee as tbe foflowinp liai to be
noted as an exception ?
*^ I most therefore desire the reader to remember, that bj tbe fill awn <ii of the
imagination, I meant only soch pkasores as arise ongiiialiy fivaa sight;
and that I divide these pkasores into two kands.**
This sentence can be no exception to an v natnral rale. The peiinlll i iito
member can only take tbe rising inflexion when its conneTion vntfa ftheidliByrte
member reqinres the vocal link. Mr Walker's rale seems but an awkward waf
of stating the [vincqde of preparatory inflexions. The doee of a aen te nee is
generally marked by an extensive preparatoiy inflexion, — a liae befixe a fidi,
a &U before a rise, — to apprise the ear of the coming ooodosioo, and to gire
extent and energy to tbe final tone ; but this penultimate inflexion does not
require to be thrown bade to the penultimate member of the «¥*ttfifK?e ; thst
must be inflected according to the sense, and the reader of taste will be at no
loss to find means of giving preparatoiy variety to his conduaioa, though he
have but a syllable on which to effect it.
The rising inflexion is productive of anticipation ; it leads the hearer to expect
what follows, and his ear would feel dieated if the expectation were not realized.
But it is often of importance to the effective reader to make a sentence seem
finished before it reaUy is so ; of course the sense must be complete, or the sem-
blance of a conclusion would not pass on the thinking hearer. Thns, in the
exdamation, '^ Why am I subject to his cruelty and scorn f^ in the following
linei : —
** If Fm designed your lordling's slave, If not, why am I subject te
By Nature^s law dengned ; His cruelty and soom ?
Why was an independent wish Or, why has man the will and power
E'er planted in my mind ? To make his fellow mourn ?"
INFLEXION. 275
The adoption of the rising^tum on the word " cruelty," according to the Pe-
nultimate Bule, would prepare the hearer to expect and wait for the stronger
word that follows ; but if the voice fall on ^* cruelty^" as if that finished the
sentence, with what spontaneity and natural emphasis will the additional words
be then delivered I
" Why am I subject to his cruelty ?" (nay, more ; and harder still to bear)
" and scorn ?"
Negative Sentences. — Negative sentences, and members of sentences,
have been incUscriminately directed to be read with a rising inflexion at the end ;
but there is an important dilSerence between them which this rule quite over-
looks. Negative sentences and clauses are naturally divisible into two classes,
Ist^ Those in which the negation assumes a positive form ; and, 2nd, Those in
which doubt or contmgency is implied, or in which the negative member is
antithetic to some affirmatory member either expressed or understood. All ne-
gative sentences of the first class must have an exclusive falling inflexion, in
accordance with the fundamental prindple.
Examples: — "Thou shalt do no murder."
** Thou shalt not steal."
** He shall not touch a hair of Catiline."
And those of the second class,— equally in accordance with the fundamental
principle^--demand a connective or suggestive, rising inflexion.
Nothing can better show the natural force of the mflexions than the effect of
a rising tone on a negative sentence. It so plainly carries an appeal to our
judgment, and duvets our thoughts to the antithetic affirmation, that, if that be
not expressed, our minds immediately surest it ; or, if it is not sufficiently ob-
vious, we shall not rest satisfied, or be able to withdraw our attention, until the
speaker has explained it.
Examples. — ** It is not with stones or bricks that I have fortified the dty.
It is not fix)m works like these that I derive my reputation."
" Hark how Fll bribe thee.
Not with fond shekels of the tested gold : —
Or stones, — whose rate is either rich or poor,
As fancy values them : — but with true prayers,
That shall be up at heaven, and enter there,
Ere the sun rise."
Concessive Sentences. Concessive sentences, like those of the preceding
dass, have been indiscriminately stated to require the rising inflexion ; but the
fundamental principle forbids a rise, exoept when connexion is to be shown.
Concesdve sentences are naturally divisible into two classes — ^those whioh are
276 INFLEXION.
oonditional, and those which are absolute and unconditional. The former re-
quire a rising, and the latter as decidedly require a falling inflexion. Thus :
** Precepts may perfect the judgment, but help little the performing power :
make critics, not speakers.^'
^^
In this sentence the antithetic emphasis on judgment^ with performing power^
and critics^ with speakers, must be marked by the voice at the same time that
the connexion is maintained with the subsequent dauses. This is aooomplishad
by the rising wave, the first part of which being a &11, serves to denote the
emphasb, while the last part links the oonditional, concessive danse with the
qualifying conclusion. Remove the qualifying parts, and let the conoessioiis
stand alone : then if the rising inflexion be employed, it will suggest the con-
clusion ; but if this is not the object of the speaker, he most use the falling
inflexion, and the concession will then be unconditional.-^^^ Precepts may
perfect the judgment :— precepts may make critics."
The First Part of an Antithesis. This forms the sabjeot of a role
among all Elocutionists. The principle of inflexion is thus stated by Mr Walker
-.** The first part of every antithesis might form a perfect sentence by itself;
but the mutual relation between the former and latter parts forms as necessary
a connexion between them, as if the former part formed no sense by itself^ but
was modified and restrained by the latter.'*
Example. — ^^ We are always complaining that our days are few, and actmg
as though there would be no end of them."
The vocal function is well exhibited in sentences of this class : the tone of
utterance supplies the reference from the former to the latter part of the sentenoe,
which the writer intended should be made, but which the words do not contain.
The fundamental rule includes the special one in this case also, so that the
latter is unnecessaiy.
Questions commencino with a Verb. — ^All Elocutionists and Nature
agree in requiring a rising termination to sentences of this olaas. We have
stated that tlie eflect of the rising inflexion is primarily to connect, or appeaL
It is on this principle that these questions take the rising turn. The interrogative
rise appellatorily suspends the sense untfl it is perfected by the affirmatoiy or
negative response : it estaUishes and maintains the most intimate connexion
between the question and answer, as mutually necessary to the expression of
sense. All questions asked by verbs are capable of being answered by a simple
^* ye«" or *^ no,^'* The question states a proposition— sometimes in interrogative
idiom, as— •^^ Are you quite well ?" and sometimes in declarative idiom, as —
*^ You are quite well ?" and the rising tone of utterance asks the hearer's cor-
roboration or denial of it. We have seen, in negative sentences, the appdllatory
effect of a rising inflexion : the interrogation is merely an ]^)peal. It pnts
before the hearer a statement or hypothesis, and appeals to him as to its cor-
INFLEXION. 277
rectnesd or idcorreotness. The customary transposition of the verb from its
ordinary place in a declarative sentence generally gives the interrogation a
distmctive form to the eye; but the declarative construction may be used
interrogatively, and the interro^rtive construction may be employed dedaratively,
and that without the least confiision when the sentences are spoken ; so that it
is in the rising progression of voice that the interrogation really consists.
So greatly does the intent of interrogation alter the utterance of a sentence
thron^out, and with so little certainty does the grammatical construction of a
sentence indicate its interrogative nature, that it would be well if— as is not
unusual in Continental printing...the mark of interrogation (?) were placed at
the beginning, as well as at the end of the interrogative sentence. The general
adoption of this principle in printing, especially when the interrogation is long,
would be a service to the Art of Reading, seeing that tJie interrogation consists
less in the form of words than in the expression of the voice,
A peculiarity that has been often noticed with reference to verb-questions, is,
that in repetition they lose the interrogative tone. If we ask a question which
has not been distinctiy heard or understood, and we, in oonsequelice, have to
repeat it, we immediately change the vocal progression, and pronounce the
words with a &lling inflexion. And this is in perfect accordance with nature,
and with our ftmdamental rule ; for what was in its first utterance interrogative,
becomes, in its repetition, part of a declarative sentence. We now simply tdl
what we had asked ; and whether we use the form of words or no, the utter-
ance is equivalent to, ** I said, or I asked, so and so.^^
Repetition, or Echo. — ^Elocutionists lay down as a rule^ that words
'^ repeated ^' or *^ echoed " should have the riang inflexion. In the examples by
which they support and illustrate the rule^ the rising progression is certainly
appropriate : but why ? Not because the rule with which they agree is expres-
sive of a natural prindple^ but because in all the instances the sense is pro-
gressive, and therefore^ by the fundamental law, demands a progressive inton-
ation. The rule, as generally stated, dictates a rise as necessary to the repeated
utterance, without limitation. It would therefore require us to read such
^repetitions as the following, with rimng inflexions : —
" Happy, happy, happy pair 1"
'' Fallen I faUen I Men ! faUen I
Fallen from his high estate."
But who could follow the rule into such absurdity? Had some such instances
as these crossed the rule-maker^s mind, we should probably have found them
noted under the separate head of ^* Exceptions."
In this, as in all the other forms of construction which we have yet examined,
the fundamental principle — the rule of sense— is strictiy applicable, without
exception.
Elocutionists have generallj proceeded hitherto on the principle,
that Bules for the Voice should be founded on Sentences : hence
the errors, inconsistencies, confusion, and complexity of their
278 INFLEXION.
rules. We adopt the very opposite principle ; and maintain,
as more simple, and as perfectly consistent and natural, that
Rules for Sertences must be founded on the Voice. The voice
has a certain, definite, vuxtural expressiveness; and this may applj
to any construction of language, according as the intent of the
speaker requires the yocal effects.
We shall now examine those kinds of sentences for which a &11-
iug inflexion has heen generally prescribed. They are Loose Seth
tences; Questions asked by Adverbs and Pronouns; Final Pause,
Falling Inflexions.
Loose Sentences. — A Loose Sentence is one which oontains a member or
members formmg perfect sense, and not restnuned or qualified by the member
or members that follow in the same period. The rule given for reading such
independent members is natural and correct, — ^namely, to detach them fiom
those that follow by a pause and a falling inflexion. A member of this kind,
as Mr Walker well observes, ^^ must be pronounced in such a manner as to show
its independence on the succeeding member, and its dependence on the period,
as forming but a part of it.** Here is another instance of the expressive power
of the voice. A falling inflexion^ however emphatic, — ^that is, beginning how-
ever high^ and with whatever force, — may be made, and yet the exdosive effect
of disjunction be avoided. The fall does not descend so low as to satisfy the
ear with a perfect rest. Its effect is at the same time completive and oontina-
ative. It stops at or above the middle tone, — expressively checked in its
downward progress. The student who has practised our exercises on the
** Mechanism of the Inflexions " should be familiar with this range of voice,
and able to execute it at will. It is common^ not only on members of Loose
Sentences, but in conversation, dialogue, or argument, at the condnsionofany
assertion which is spoken— not as at all doubtful, neither with the tone of
absolute certainty, but, — so as to convey to the hearer a statement or opimon,
which he is afforded an opportunity to answa: or refute. Mr Knowies says,
that ** Mr Walker*s rule of the loose sentence is altogether superflaons ;*' and
the reason given is a plain statement of the natural principle of inflexion ;
namely, ** the inflexion is governed by the completeness of the sense ; and that
is all we have to take into consideration." Mr Knowies has gready simplified
Mr Walker's system by the recognition of this governing principle ; but he has
not allowed it absolute authority, as his rules for the Serirs testify. We
would less object to this rule of the Loose Sentence as superfluous, than to'manj
others which Mr Walker has accumulated ; for though our fundamental princi-
ple includes this rule, it is not without its utility as marking the difference
between a conclusive and a continuative &lling inflexion.
Questions askbd bt Pronouns or Adverbs. — Mr Walker's rule
states, that ** when an interrogative sentence commences with any of the
• Blementf of Bloeation, p. 83.
INFLEXION. 279
interrogative pronouns or adverbs, with respect to inflexion, elevation, or
depression of voice, it is pronounced exactly like a declarative sentence." The
reason of this he does not tell us, but we shall discover the principle from a
consideration of the nature of these sentences. We have seen that those inter-
rogations which commence with verbs require no more than a simple affirmative
or negative to answer them ; the question itself contains the terms of the
answer, which we have only to accept or reject : but questions asked by
interrogative pronouns or adverbs demand a new sentence in response. We ask
wheuy how, why, where, or by whom a thing was or will be done, — and the
answer states the time, manner, reason, place, or agent of the action in
question. The point of our inquuy is not whether the thing actually was
done ; we entertain no doubt about that part of the sentence depending on the
verb, but take for granted that it expresses a fact ; and our only doubt relates
to the drcumstances attending the act, — the how, when, why, &c.
In questioning the reality of a fact, or the truth or correctness of an assertion,
we naturally elevate the voice ; but to ask the drcumstances of it, unless when
associated with plaintive or tender sentiments, we generally depress the voice.
In the former case, we seek assurance from a state of doubt and uncertainty ;
in the latter, we seek m/ormation. Sentences of the latter dass are imperative
in their nature. They convey our request— or command it may be — accom-
panied with any shade of feeling from imploring anxiety to angry mandate. In
proportion as they are more or less peremptory will the force and extent of the
downward inflexion vary.
Example. — *^ Why sinks that caldron? and what noise is this?"
But when there is in them anything of tenderness, sadness, or kindred feelings,
the voice will take a more or less extended range in the opposite direction.
Example. — " How is it with you, lady ?"
To say that all questions asked by interrogative pronouns or adverbs require a
£Edling inflexion, as most of our Elocutionists do asdert, is a mistake. Let any
one with a correct ear, and whose habits of observation render him competent
to judge, watch the movements of the conversational voice, — a very fidr test, —
and he will find that questions of this kind are very often pronounced with a
rising inflexion, most frequently with that modified rise or fall which we have
denominated Gontmuative ; and, if we mistake not, he will also discover that
the prindple which we have stated — ^m other words, the frmdamental rule — ^is
that which governs the adaption of their mflexions.
The continuative rise or fall may frequently be used indifferently on a ques-
tion of this kind, which is not marked by emotional emphasis.
Example. — " How do you do ?" % r " How do you do ?"
^ ^ > or < ^ ^
" What is it o'dock ?" ) I " What is it o'clock ?"
The rising inflexion is, however, more deferential than the falling, and is that
^80 INFLEXION. ^
which would generally bo used in addressing a superior, while the latter is that
which the superior would probably himself employ.
It is to be observed also, that when a question of this kind, uttered with a
fiilling inflexion, has not been distinctly apprehended, or, from any cause, is
echoed by the person to whom it was addressed, it receives, in this repetition,
the rising inflexion.
Example, — ** Whence arise these forebodings, but from the oonsdoosness of
guilt?"
^^ Whence arise these forebodings ?'\
*^ From the consciousness of ^utZ^r") j j
This is generally the case also when we have not heard or onderstood with cer-
tainty the answer returned to our question, and consequently repeat the mter-
rogative word.
Example, — " When were you there last ?"
AjSBWKR,.,.,..(m disHnciljf^ifprehefuM)
But when the feeling of the questioner is not of the apologetic kind, he may throw
petulance and authority mto the repeated question, and use the fklling inflexion.
Thus a brow-beating barrister to an equivocating witness.
** TfJenf — implying — ** Answer durectly and distinctly, afar, without evasion."
In all these illustrations we may trace the working of the two simple funda-
mental prindples of inflexion, — which, among many varieties of applicatton,
require no category of Exceptions.
In the following sentence, the elliptical questions, *'^for whom f" and ^''/or
thee ?" illustrate the two classes of interrogations^ — the former being equivalent
to ^^for whom shall v;e break it ?" and the latter to the verb question " shall
we do so for thee .*"
" All this dread order break,— for whom ? — ^for thee ?
Vile worm 1 madness ! Pride ! Impiety I"
Final Pause or Period. — Here, as the sense is generally complete, a
falling inflexion is naturally prescribed by all Elocutionists. The degree in which
the sense is completed exclusively of what follows, corresponds to the lu^iroach
the voice makes to a perfect rest. As the members of a Loose Sentence are sever-
ally complete, yet have a mutual dependence, as parts of the same period ; so
a succession of periods^ each containing perfect sense, and grammatically com-
plete, may have a mutual dependence as parts of one thought or chain of ideas:
and the reader of taste and discernment will show this dependence or relationship,
by reserving Uie perfectly conclusive inflexion for the termination of the periodic
series, and giving its members such a modified fall as may indicate continuative-
ness as well as completeness. Sometimes a directly connective, or ri^ng in-
flexion, may be demanded at the period ; but it will only be when suggestiye
INFI«BXION. 281
foroe is Te^fnired, or when sufih a degree of ooimexiQii inth the next sedtenoe
must be shown, as might have been appropriately indicated hy a Iom daQimo-
tive form of pmictiiation.
Some additional clafisesof sentences require to be noticed, in order
to complete our illustration of the applicabiUtj of the two funda-
mental rules to every kind of composition, and their sufficiency
for the goyemment of inflexion.
Parenthesis. — Parenthetical matter introdaoed into the body of a sentence
most be so pconoonoed as not to interfere with the current of the inflexions in
that sentence. Thus, whether the parenthesis is mserted at a point where the
rising or &lling inflexion takes place, the parenthesis mnSt teiminate yiiih the
same kind of inflexion, to mamtain the same connectedness or disjmiction be-
tween the parenthesis and what follows, as exists between the latter and the
ehmse before the parenthesis: bat the final parenthetical inflexion most be
pitdied lower« and the whde parenthesis most be more feebly and (generally)
more quickly uttered^ to show its subordination to the sentence it dividee.
Sometimes, fi^m peculiar emphasis, the parenthesis requires to be made more
prominent than the rest of the sentence* In this case it will be raised to a
higher level, instead of being sunk to a lower ; but the direction of its final in-
flexion will still be regulated by the same principle. When a parentbeas, intro-
duced where a sentence is incomplete, terminates with what is so positively em-
phatic as to require a falling inflexion, it must of course have one ; but ^tber
of the continuative, iH»*exclusive kind, or dse followed by a rise — forming a
rising wave — ^that the neeessary connectedness of the subsequent with the ante-
cedent clause may not be lost sight o£ We may, then, bri^y state as the rule,
that a different pitchy — generally lower, but it may be higher, and a different
rate of utterance, — geaerally quicker, but it may be slower — ^are required to dis-
tinguish the parenthesis : while the direction of its ultimate inflexion must be
correspondent to that of the cUiuse preceding it.
The usual marks of parenthesLs () are often omitted, and scxnetimes a break
or dadi (— ) befwe and after the parenthetic dause is substituted ; but, however
the typographic sign may be dispensed with, the vocal sign can never be omitted.
Words or phrases in Apposition^ and nearly all explanatory or relative danses
are of the nature of parentheses, and require to be similarly delivered.
EixiFTiOAL MsBiBEB. — ^fhssa a complemental word or dause is equally
related to two contrasted governing w(»:ds, as, ^' an estate by gaming," in the
following sentence^ it is called the dliptical member : — *' A good man will love
himself too wcU to lose an estate by gaming^ and his ndghbour too well to
win oaie." The elliptical member may be i^aoed after either of the antithetic
words, but it must not interfere with the order of their inflexions. Thus, the
preceding sentence might be written as follows : — " A good man will love him-
self too well to lose, (or lose,) and his neighbour too wdl to win an estate by
gaming.'''' In tlie first case, the complemental dause is pronounced with a
N n
282 INFLEXION.
rising tone, and in the latter, with a falling : it rnnst follow the direetion of th^
geveming emphatio word which it immediatelj sacoeeds.
Verb Questions of Two Parts Connected by Or. — ^To prove the
neoeamty of invariably reoorring to the rule of xnse for the mode of inflecting
SDj sentence, we need only instance qaestions of this elaae. Bj varying the
tones with which we pronounce the same words, we ask, by theoi^ two totally
different questions. Thus :— ^^ Are you going to liverpool or Mancheste ?** —
if the voice rise at the end of this sentence, it is a question as to the ^oct of
ffoing^ referring equally to either place, and may be answered by yes or no ;
bemg equivalent to *^ Are you going to either of these places ?** Bat if the viHoe
fall at the end of the sentence, it then becomes no question as to the fiict of
going, but refers only to the place, being equivalent to *^ To which cHheBe
I^aoes are you going ?^' — assuming that you are going to one or olJier,
Questions of this kind, of which the verb is the subject, may always be resdved
into '^ Is it either f '— can be answered by yes or no, and must have the
rising inflexion ; and those of which the verb is not the subject^ may sdways be
resolved into *^ which is it f " — cannot be answered by yes or no, and leqoire
the falling inflexion at the end.
Series. — ^The ordinary rules for the inflexion of '* sentences oontahnng two
or more perfectly similar portions in succession,"—- a series,— «how to what extent
the habit of framing rules to fit every construction of sentence, instead of refer^
ring all sentences to general governing principles, may be carried. Yet, extra-
ordinary as the rules for the series are, they have been copied and recqMed^
without question, by almost every successive Elocutionary book-maker.
^^ Nothing," says Mr Walker, ** can be more various than the pronnndation of
a series : almost every different number of particulars requires a different method
of varying them ; and even those of precisely the same number of particulars
admit of a different mode of pronunciation, as the series is either commendng
or concluding, simple or compound, single or double, or treble, with many other
varieties, too complex to be easily determined." If this theory were correct,
no sentence containing a series could be appropriately delivered, till we
had first counted the number of particulars in the enumeration : reading at
sight would, thus, be impracticable. How far from right — how^ fyr fit>m
Nature is tins prindple, — ^and how accurately the rule of sense enables any peraon
of judgment to read at sight, we hope to be able dearly to demonstrate.
A series is said to be simple when it is an enumeration of single words, and
to be compound when its members consist of more than a single word. Why
a difference should be necessary in the mode of inflecting these serieses is cer-
tiunly far from obvious ; yet all the Walker school of Elocutionists have their
separate tables of the simple and of the compound series &ithfi]Ily copied from
the original arrangements of then* great leader.
The series is called *' commencing" when it begins, but does not end the
sentence, and " concluding" when it ends the sentence, whether it begins it or
not. The fundamental principle of inflexion would, therefore, demand a rising
inflexion at the end of the commencing series, and a falling inflexion at the
INFLEXION. 393
end of the concluding series : and so far, Nature and all Elocutiomsts agree*
But with the sing-song, ups and downs, prescribed for the other members^
especially of a long series ; and, fundamentally, with the principle of having to
count the number of members before being able to pronounce the series, Nature
is most deddedly at variance. The natural series is, midoobtedlj, one of
numbers ; and in the mode in which numbers are universally counted, we mus^
look for the natural utterance of all enumerations, whether of single words or
of sentences.
In the '* Practical Elocutionist,^ a well-known dass-foook, the first edition of
which appeared in 1S36, the principle of serial inflexion is thus stated : and all
experience and observation corroborate its truth.
*^ To give a practical example that must be onderstood by the dullest com-
prehension. — ^I am to give a person three, four, or five sovereigns. Say, I am
4o give him five sovereigns. In counting, I must pronounce the numbers xsp
to the fourth with the rising inflexion — ^that is, the inflexion denoting incom-
pletion^
One', two', three', four',
and the fourth number with a greater degree of the same inflexion, to denote
4hat the next number closes the enumeration ;
One', two', three', four", five".
*^ Ha%, then,^* the author* adds^ '* is hitting at once the bull^s-eye in the Elocu-
donaiy target, which has been shot at with various success by all Elocutionists
and Guides to Elocution."
Let this be tested in any language, as it has already been in several, and
experiment will satisfactorily establish the principle, and demonstrate that this
is the natural order of numeral, and consequently of serial inflexions.
. The double and treble measures to which the series was originally set by Mr
Walker, and to which it has been chanted with but little variation by succeed-
ing Elocutionists, are entirely artificial ; coinciding in some few simple instances
with the natural arrangements, but fuudamentally at variance with the natnral
principle.
The following Table of Numbers from one to ten exemplifies the order of numeral
inflexion : with this all serial infle^don must coincide, whether the series is long
or short, and whethw its members are simple or compound, or a mixture of both.
One.
One, Two.
One, Two, Three.
One, Two, Three, Four.
^ •^ ,^
One, Two, Three, Four, Five.
* Mr Bell, Senior, (London.)
9M INFLEXION.
One, Two, Three, Four, Five, fib.
One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Sevan.
•^ w^ ^^ ♦^ ^^ »•'
One, Two, Three, F6iir, Five, 8U, Seven, Eiglit.
One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, ISglit, Mine.
•^ ^ •/ •. •^ •^ •^ ^i .«^ ^^
One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Teo.
Oover down the eondiKHng nmnben in this Table, and the notatioii ehatn
the Inflexion of a eommmcwg series t tlie TaUe aa it standa ahowa the oi^
dinary inflexion of a concluding eeriee.
In the eonclndfaig aeriee, the reader has a degree of latiliido, and an
eptoi of inflexion, wliksh, in a eommenoing aeriee, he eamot have. The efltot
of a rifling inflexion is ocmneotive and preparatoiy, and itv adoptioii on. the
membera of a oondading eeriee oarriee on the attention of the hearer to the
members that follow, ao ae moet foroibly to exhibit them in their concatenaAon;
but if the felling inflexion is adopted,— as it may be, with per&ot oofreotnees,
the eense bebg formed at the end of eadi member,— then the aggregate of
members — the series — ^wHl in some degree loee foroe and oompactneaa, baft the
individual members will gain in emphaajs and separate effect.
We have only to add, that as the principle of melody reqmrea an opposite
preparatory inflexion before eveiy principal one, the nwnber previoua to tiie
last should generally take a modified inflexion upwards or dowuwanla, to in*
troduoe the cimdosion of the series. But this, like all other roles, ia aobjeot to
the rule of sense. It would, we conceive, be bad reading, to saorifioe the atrong^
emphatic efl'eot of the foiling inflexion on the penultimate member of the follow*
ing sentence, for the sake of rendering it preparatory,— 4M it ia marked m
Mr Ewing's Eloeation,— 4o the eomparativdy weak member that oondudea.
'* Watch ye, stand fiist in the foith, quit yon like men, be strong.**
In this and similar sentences, the radical point of the inflexions gradnaOy
rises as the secies proceeds, and the effisct of a climax is produced. Thus,—
feiCb,
*«K the liko Ml.
Middle Wftteb In be
Tone. feet you .^^^
ye, qnU etroDff.
The habit of reading with other than natural tones, with limited
inflexions, and with monotonous repetitions of the same radical
or pitch-notes, which is so very common, will be most readily
broken bj the practice of strong and varied inflexions on single
words, either from vocabular arrangements, or as thej occur in
ordinary composition. The latter will at first afibrd the easier
INFW5XI0N. 285
and the safer exercise ; for, in reading tables of unconnected
words, the voice most natnrallj inclines to a sameness of tone,
which it requires a constant effort to counteract. Nevertheless
the reader who cannot, at wiU, pronounce unconnected w(»rds in
anj manner, or with any degree of inflexion, has not acquired
sufficient control over the fundamental movements of the voice.
The four inflexions should, therefore, be practised — ^with different
intervals, imtil a perfect mastery ovor them has been attained.
After a little practice, if not at onpe, in reading word by word
any familiar language, the voice will expressively adapt itself to
the connectedness or disconneotedness of the words, and the
feeling which they convey. This, therefore, is the best kind of
exercise for the acquirement of vocal flexibility.
The custom of inflectively anticipating the next word, phrase, or
sentence, because it is before the eye, is one of the most cmnmon
causes of ineffective reading, especially of that kind which consists
in too frequent elevations of the voice. Few readers err in the oppo*
site way by the misplacement of conclu^ve turns ; this constant
linking-on of sentences may be said to be the most prevailing form
of defective expression in reading. The worst reader generally lets
slip a natural note, when he has to turn over a page to conclude
a sentence. If the utterance is querulous, doubtful, or progres*
sive, or if the sense is undeveloped, his voice mil rise into na-
turally suspensive elevation ; and if the xMerajioe is positive, or if
the sense is formedj however incomplete the sentence may be, his
voice will fall here: and this because he does not see in adoanee of his
utterance.* Let the reader reflect that his hearers are in precisdy
the same predicament at every word — they do not see the next ;
and their ears as naturally expect, as his voice naturally makes, a
suspensive or conclusive turn, correspondent to the mental efSact
of the utterance. If he concludes a sentence with a rising turn,
because he sees another sentence after it, they are led to consider
what has been said as incomplete, and dependent on, or impor-
tantly qualified by, what is to follow ; and they feel disappointed
and annoyed, when the expected utterance comes out, and con*
tains no reference to what preceded. Not only so, but that which
* It is not to be inferred that good readers do not look in advance of their
utterance ; on the contraxy, the best readers exercise the longest prevision. Bat
they look onward in order to catch the relations of clauses and sentenoes, and
to regalate their utterance accordingly. The anticipatoiy effect which we con-
demn, has no connexion with regulated expressiveness : it is indiscriminating,
and is governed, not by ideas^ but by words.
386 INFLEXION.
in composition was meant to be conclusive and conyincing, leayes on
the minds of the hearers an unsatisfactory and indecisiye impres-
sion — ^the natural effect of the reader's inappropriate intonation.
We, therefore, recommend the student who is desirous of ac-
quiring the use of his own natural speakioig voice in reading, to
practise the inflexions on single wards, until the vocal movements
are perfectlj mastered, and to proceed through all the stages of
grammatical grouping which we have arranged and exemplified,
with a full and varied sweep of the voice, pitched from eveij
accent in every group,— -directed on the principles of inflexion
which we have laid down ; — and, we are sure, he will soon find
the old, tuneful^ hum-drum spell that held his voice with the force
of a second nature, broken ; and will be enabled to give his
reading — ^if not a perfectly spontaneous effect, — a gradually in-
creasing degree of natural variety, which, without some such
thoroughly searching, habit-eradicating mode of practice, he could
never hope to attain.
This kind of exercise, if useful for the correction of habitoallj
faulty tones, must be much more effective for the prevention of
unnatural habits of delivery, and the cultivation of vocal flexibi-
lity and expressiveness in those who have only to learn, and hare
not to undergo the harder labour of unlearning.
The way in which school exercises are generally allowed to be
rattled and gabbled over, is productive of much mischief, both to
articidation and vocal expression. Habits of speech are formed
at public schools which cannot be thrown off in after-life without
more labour and watchfulness than nine out of ten persons could
either encounter or afford to bestow. Stammering, even, is often
traced to the uncontrolled emulation of a class ; and all impedi-
ments and defects of speech are, from the same cause, almost
invariably aggravated at public schools. Quickness of utterance
being the quality most prized by mistaken schoolmasters, the
thoughtful boy, who is often shy, and who is generally of better
parts than the pert, guessing lads, that are always first with their
answers, has no chance ; and in his efforts to expedite his thoughts,
he confuses them, or they come faster than his tongue can utter
them, so that jumbling rapidity, inarticulate hurry, stuttering,
or convulsive impediment, is very naturally created.
Expressive inflexion prevents hurry, and favours distinctness
of articulation : it may, besides, be made an index of mental ad-
MODULATION. 287
TJEmcement ; and used with much advantage to taste, as an in-
strnment of mental cultiyation.
Let, then, every teacher of youth take this ftmdamental axiom
of speaking tones into ordinary class application — none questions
its truth, though many violate it — that *' all words, whether pro-
nounced in a high or low, loud or soft tone ; whether uttered
swiftly or slowly, forcibly or feebly, with passion or without it,
must necessarily be pronounced with inflexion, that is, sliding
either upwards or downwards,^* If words are enunciated with-
out inflexion, they must be in monotone, and sung.
Let this one principle be systematically enforced in every school^
and the monotony, drawling, and screaming, and other forms of
unnatural utterance so common and so life-lasting, will be at once
banished from the Class-room, — and, through it, from the Pulpits,
the Courts, and from every arena of hona-fide oratory : from all
but, perhaps, the mimic stage ; which might shake the sides of
the next-risen generation, by imitating the grave chanting of a
bygone age.
MODULATION.
In treating of the Mechanism and Extent of the Inflexions, we
have shown that the radical or pitch-note of the inflexions varies
to an almost infinite extent. Our inflective notation is calculated
to show the extent of the inflexions, — the intervals through which
they range, and — very generally — the position of their pitch-note
with relation to an assumed middle tone of voice. Modulation
has reference to the prevailing pitch of the inflexions in a sentence,
and the key-notes, as it were, of periods or clauses. Thus a pas*-
sage may be modulated in a high or low key, without at all affect-
ing the direction or extent of its inflexions.
In arranging a notation for Modulation, we can take notice only
of the greater and more manifest varieties. Minuteness we can-
not aim at. It may be sufficient to fix on five points, a middle key,
and two above and two below this. The middle key corresponds
to the natural or Conversational Pitch, and will be denoted by
No. 3, — the middle number between 1 and 6. The key above
this (4,) is indefinitely Higher; and, when used with somewhat
more than conversational Force, may be called the Declamatory
Key. The key below the conversational — (No. 2,) — ^is indefinitely
Lower; and when used with slower than conversational Time,
may be called the Solemn Key, No. 5, — the High Key, — ^is, with
288 MODULATION.
strong force, the kej of Poinan. Na 1, — ^the Low Key^^^ia^ vitb
slow time, the key of Awe, The following notation ezemplifies
these varieties of Modulation : —
Hiffli.
4 Higher.
S — — Lowr.
1^ ■ Low.
^^ *0n the one hand are the Divine approbation and inunortal honoor ; on
the other, ('remember, and * beware !) ^ are the stings of conadenoe, and end-
less infiunj.**
*( *The old adage of ' Too many irons in the fire,* conveys an abominable
felsehood. *Toa cannot have too many : poker, tongs, and all, — *keep them
an going."
To indicate a progressive eleyation or depression of pitch, the
mark F or [ will be placed before the modulatire number. Thus
[3 signifies a gradual ascent of pitch above the conversational key ;
and [2, a gradual descent from the pitch indicated bj No. 2.
A change of modulation is always necessary to distinguish In-
terrogations or Appeals from Responses ; Assertions from Proofs
or Illustrations ; General Statements from Inferences or Corol-
laries ; to introduce Quotations ; to denote the conmaencement of
a new subject, or new division of a subject, or of any marked
change in the style of composition — as from Narration to Descrip-
tion, or from Literal to Figurative Language, and vice versa ; to
express feeling and changes of sentiment; to distinguish what has
been previously expressed or implied, or what is merely expletiye,
from what is new and emphatic to the sense ; to detach from the
main body of the sentence words or clauses which are ezplanatoiy
or parenthetic ; and to distinguish generally those parts of a sen-
tence which are necessary to its construction from those that are
subordinate and dispensable.
The degree in which the Modulation is changed, and even the
direction of the change, — whether to a higher or lower key, — most
depend on the reader's judgment, taste, temperament, &c. To
assist him in the cultivation of the first two qualities, and, mainly,
in forming the habit of making modulative changes at those places
where all good readers must agree in applying the principle of
change, however widely they may differ in the degree and direc-
tion in which they apply it, is the object which we aim at accom-
plishing by our modulative notation.
No Exercise will be found more improving to the style of read-
MODULATION. 289
itig than the distinguishing, — by changes of Modulation, — ^the
principal from the subordinate words in a sentence, — the subjec-
tive and the predicative clauses from the mass oi inferior sen-
tences and clauses in which they are often found embedded.
These necessary component members of every sentence should be
so delivered as to strike upon the hearer's mind with unencum-
bered distinctness among the most multitudinous assemblage of
particulars. The Subject and Predicate are generally the most
emphatic parts of a sentence : they are so always, indeed, except
when either of them has been previously*expressed or implied ; or
when some opposition or contrast of particulars or subordinate
clauses requires the elevation of such inferior words.
Let the Student exercise himself in the Modulation and Rela-
tive Emphasis of principal and subordinate clauses in the fol-
lowing manner : — Underline the principal Subjects and principal
Predicates, and the connectives of principal subjects and pre-
dicates in some passages of varied styles of composition ; and
separate, by an appropriate mark, all subordinate, complemental,
or qualifying clauses and sentences, from the principals, and from
each other. Read the composition with a modulative change at
every mark, and observe whether the principal subject and pre-
dicate bear the leading emphasis, and if they do not, why not ?
and whether any of the syntactically subordinate words require
the leading emphasis on them, and if so, why so ?
The following is an Example of this kind of Modulative and
Emphatic Parsing. The principal syntactical words are italicised.
" Generally speaking, | those \ who have the most grace, and the
greatest gifts, | and are of the greatest usefulness, ( are the most
humble, \ and think the most meanly of themselves. So, \ those
boughs I and branches of trees | which are most richly laden with
fruit, I bend downwards, | and hang lowest."
" Generally speaking^'' qualifies the principal sentence, " ^kose «re," ^c,
and is therefore a first-class subordinate clause : " those''' — the subject ; although
a pronoun, it is emphatic, because not immediately followed by the predicate, and
because it is the antecedent to a relative: *' who have the most grace,'''' a re-
lative sentence limitmg the subject, and therefore a first-class subordinate:
" and the greatest gifts ^^'' — another relative sentence in the same predicament :
" awd{who) are (therefore) of the greatest usefulness,^^ — a deduction from the
two preceding relative sentences, and therefore a second-class subordinate :
** are the most humble,^^ — the predicate : " and think the most meanly of them-
selvesy^ another predicate to the subject " those;'''' the leading emphasis falls on
the word *' meanly, ^^ because if it were on " think,^'' it would convey a false
meaning, by suggesting an antithesis evidently not intended, and because " of
o o
S90 MODULATION.
thenuicU'cs'^ U implied in the former predicate, ^* the most humble r" the second
predicate is sabordinate to the first, as being merdj a repetitiou of the same
idea in different words. The next sentence is sabordinate to the preceding, be-
caose the (act it states is advanced in illnstratioD of what was said in the former
sentence. ^^ Soy^ — a connectiTe adverb ; very emphatic, because nuirking the
correspondence or analogy between the facts of the two sentences : ^* those
bougfuy^ — the snbject : ^* and branches of trees,^^ another subject to the pre-
dicate *^ bend;"" the leading cUuisnlar accent fiUls on the word ** trees,^^ becaose
if it were on *^ branches, it would imply antitheas between that word and
'* bangk»t^ but the leading subjective emphasis is on ^* boughs,''^ because that
word implies " of trees .•" " which are most richlif laden wiih/niU,''^ — ^a rela-
tive sentence limiting the subject^ and therefore a first-dass subordinate : ** bend
downwards,^ — the predicate ; the leading accent on *^ bend^^^ because that word,
referring to richly laden boughs, implies ** downwards ;** '^ and hang lowest,"
— another predicate to the subject *' boughs;^* tlie leading accent on ^^ lowest^"
because all boughs *^ richly laden with fruif^'' must ^^ hang^
We use the following marks to denote the comparatiye eleva-
tion or depression of sabordinate clauses : — Elevate, f Depress, |_.
This mark ( | ) shows the end of the modulated clause ; it is
used also to separate unconnected clauses. The full modulatiTe
and accentual notation of the above sentence would then be the
following : —
6en"erallj speak'ing, | Hhose \ who have'^ the most' grace" |
and' the great'est gift6/'[ and are' of the great'est use^fiilness, |
*are' the most' hum"ble, | and think' the most mean'ly of them-
selves'. * 80 I those boughs" \ and bran'ches of trees" | which'
are most rich'ly la'deu with fruit," | bend" down'wards, | and
hang' low "est.
In the two following Extracts, the Subjects and Predicates are
printed in italics : in the subsequent illustrations, the clausolar
divisions and the relative modulations are also marked. In reading
these Exercises, note, —
Ist, — ^When the Subject and Predicate stand together, they must (unless when
they are without emphasis) be uttered with that deliberation and intervening
pause which denote what is most weighty and worthy of attention. 2nd, When
they are separated by any clause or clauses, these subordinate parts mnst
be so pronounced as not to interfere with the inflexion and modulation of the
principal members ; they must be removed from the main level of the sentence
— changed to a different key-note ; but whether nused to a higher, or depressed
to a lower, their syntactical subordination must be d&tinctly shown, in their
more limited inflexions, feebler force, and (generally) quicker time. 8rd, When
subordinate clauses precede the subject, though they may be inflected down-
wards, they cannot terminate with a completive fall ; their inflexion must be
^ther of that modified kind which we call Continuative, or else its more em-
phatic descent must be finished by a slightly rising connecting link. 4th, The
Subject must be uttered with such a progression of voice, as plainly to denote
MODULATION. 291
the closeness of connexion that exists between it and the Predicate as members
which are mutually necessary to the expression pf sense ; and the voice must be kept
up, or at least kept from making a completive fall at the end of any clause that may
intervene between it and the predicate : — ^if there are several intervening clauses,
the last must be pronounced with such an elevation of voice as may premonstrate
the coming conclusion. 5th, When subordinate clauses follow the predicate,
though they form part of the same period, they must not be allowed to deprive
the utterance of the predicate of its completive effect : unless when connexion
is purposely maintsuned by a rise, — as when the subordinate clauses are intended
to limit the acceptation of the predicate,— the latter must have a perfect fall,
however far from the end of the sentence it may occur. 6th, When Principal
Connectives are not immediately followed by the words which they unite in
sense, but by some subordinate clause, they must be kept apart in utterance, by
a pause and modulative change after them. 7th, The Clausular Accentuations
and Relative Emphasis (and, consequently, the arrangement of the Inflexions)
must be regulated by the judgement.
uamlet's soliloquy on death.*
To he f or not to bef that is the qiiestion : fj
Whether Uis nobler, \ in the mmd, | to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a siege of troubles,
And, I by opposing, | end themf — To diet — to sleep —
No more i^-mand, | by a sleep, | to say we end
The heart-ache, and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir Ui^ tis a consummation
Devoutly to be unsh*d! To die — to sleep ;
To sleep f^-^perchance to dream /—ay, there's the rub !
For, I in that sleep of death, | what dreams may come,
[When we have shuffled off this mortal coil, |
Must give iw pause I There's the respect,
That makes calamity of so long life !
For, who would bear the whips and scorns of time, |
The oppressor's wrong, | the proud man^s contumely, |
The pangs of despised love, | the law's delay, |
The inso1enc<i of office, | and the spurns
That patient merit of the unworthy takes-— |
When he himself, might his quietus make,
With a bare bodkin ? Who would fardels bear, —
To groan and sweat under a weary life, |
* The italics in this and the following similarly printed passages, do not indicate
emphasis, but, as stated on the preceding page, denote the principal constructive
words in the several sentences. These, whctlier emphatic or subordinate to the
sense, should always be distinctively uttered. The effect and object of the
notation will be best seen by first reading the italicised words alone.
292 MODULATION.
But that the dread of something after Deith
I^That undieooTer^d ooimtiT, [^from whose boom
No traveller retains ! | ^.^uzdes the will ;
And makes us rather hear those ills we have,
Thanjly to others that we know not of.
Thus Conscience does make cowards of ns all :
And thuSy the native hue of Resolution
Is sicklied oW with the pale east of Thought ;
And enterprises of great pith and moment, —
[With this regard, | their currents turn awry^
And lose the name of action !
THE PO^'KR OF HABIT.
Whatever action^ \ either good or bad, | ?ias been done onoe, is done a
second time with more ease, and with a better liking ; and a frequent repetition
heightens the ease and pleasure of the performance | without limit. By virtue
of this property of the mind^ having done any thing once becomes a motive to
doing it again ; having done it twice is a double motive ; and [so many
times the act is repeated, fso many times | the motive to doing it onoe more,
is multiplied. To this principle, habit owes its wonderful foree, [of which it
is usual to hear men complain, — fas of something external that enslaves the
will. But the complaint \m. this instance, Tas in every other in which man
presumes to arraign the ways of Providence, | is rash and unreasonable.
The fault is in man himself, if a principle, implanted in him for his good>
becomes, | by negligence and mismanagement, | the instrument of his ruin.
It is oiving to this principle | that every faculty of the understanding, and
every sentiment of the heart, is capable of being improved fby exercise. It is
the leading principle | in the whole system of the human constitution ; [mo-
difying both the physical qualities of the body, and the moral and inteDectual
endowments of the mind.
CLOSE OF A GOOD LIFE.
*And now | behold him [up the hill ascending, |
[Memory | and hope, [like evening stars, [ attending ;
Sustained, \ excited, [till hia course is run, |
TBy deeds of virtue | done, | or to be done.
•When [on his couch The sinks | at length | to rest.
Those I by his counsel saved, | his power redressed, |
Those I by the world shunned ever [as unblest, |
[At whom the rich man's dog growls from the gate,
FBut whom he sought out, [sitting desolate, |
^Comd and stand round! \ the widow with Tier child, |
[As when she first forgot her tears | and smiled!
» They \ who watch by liim | see not ; \ but he sees,
^Sees I and exults ! \ — were ever dreams like these f
MODULATION. 293
*They \ who watch by him | hear not; \ hut he hears!
And earth recedes^ \ *and heaven itself appears,
^^Tis past! I "that hand we grasped, [alas ! j^in vain !
Nor shall we look into his face again I
*But I to his closing eyes, (for all were there J
Nothing was wanting ; \ and, Lthrough many a year,
We shall remember \ with a fond delight |
The words | so predons | which we heard to-night ;
THis parting ; | ' though \ awhile | our sorrow flows,
fLike setting suns, | or music at the close !
» Theri \ was the drama ended, \ Not till then,
l^So full of chance and change the lives of men, |
Could we pronounce him happy. Then | secure
From pain, | from grief, Hand all that we endure, |
He slept I in peace, | ^say rather soared to heaven, (
Upborne from earth | by Him, [to whom 'tis given,
In his right hand to hold the golden key
That opes the portals of eternity.
When I by a good man's grave | I muse | alone, |
Methinks \ an angel sits upon the stone :
[Like those of old, [on that thrice-hallowed night,
rWho sat and watched | in raiment heavenly bright ;
And [with a voice inspiring joy, fnot fear,
Says, I pointing upwards, | that he is not here.
That he is risen !
It is almost as difficult to make a man unlearnhxs errors | as his knowledge.
Mal-in formation is more hopeless than non-information ; | *f or, error is always
more busy than ignorance. 'Ignorance is a blank sheet, Ton which we may
write ; | hut error is a scribbled one, [from which we must first erase.
'Ignorance is contented to stand still ] with her back to the truth ; but error
is more presumptuous, \ * and proceeds in the backward direction. * Ignorance
has no light, hut error follows a false one : 'the consequence is, | that error
[when she retraces her footsteps, | has farther to go [before she can arrive at
the truth fthau ignorance.
*Time moveth not! ^our being His [that moves ;
*And we, [swifl gliding down life's rapid stream, |
Dream of swifl ages, | and revolving years, |
Ordained to chronicle our passing days : |
'So I the young sailor, [in the gallant bark |
Scudding before the wind, | beholds the coast
Receding from his eyes, | 'and thinks [the while,
rStruck with amaze [ that he is motionless.
And that the land is sailing.
294 MODULATION.
^MarCs uncertain life
Is Wee a rain-drop [hanging on the bough
f Amongst ten thousand of its sparkling kindred,
[The remnants of some passing thnnder shower,
fWhich have their moments [dropping one by one,
[And [which shall soonest lose its periloos hold,
We eannoi guess,
*The actions of each day are^ [for the most part, | links [which follow each other
in the chain of costom. Hence \ *the great effort of practical wisdom,
is to imbue the mind with right tastes, | affections, | and habits ; [the ele-
ments of character | and masters of actions.
«0A, ^twas a gladdening, glorious thing,
To see the sun [in pity ffluig
[On the poor weeping trees fhis ray,
[To wipe then: falling tears away.
*And the r^oidng leaves \ the while, |
[lit by the sun-beam, | seemed to smOe |
f A thousand times, [in our rapt eye,
fMore lovely than they were when dry.
*Say I what impels, (^amidst surrounding snow
Congealed, f the crocus* flaming bud to glow ?
Say I what retards, famidst the summer^s blaie
[The autumnal bulb, | till pale declining days ?
• The God of Seasons, [whose pervading power
Controls the sun, | or sheds the fleecy shower ;
He bids each flower his quickening word obey |
Or I to each lingering bloom | enjoins delay.
If thou desire happiness, | desire not to be rich : *he is rich, foot who pos-
sesses much, [but he that covets no more ; 'and he is poor, [not that
enjoys little, fbut he that wants too much : the contented mind wants
nothing that it hath not, | *the covetous mind wants [not only what it
hath not, fbut likewise what it hath.
Proud minion of a little hour^
[Receptacle of passing power |
The page of history scan :
f Although the mighty million fling
A name upon theei | -—call thee king |
Yet I art thou stUl a man.
See I how [beneath the moonbeam^s smile> |
Yon little billow heaves its breast, |
And foams \ and sparkles | for a while, |
And [murmuring, | then | subsides to rest t
*Thus I man, fthe sport of bliss and care, |
Rises I on Timers eventful sea ; |
MODULATION. 296
And^ l^having swelled a moment there, |
Thus melts [into eternity.
* The passionst [like heavy bodies down steep hills, fonce in motion | move
themselves^ 'and know no ground bnt the bottom.
* Every man \ who speaks and reasons | is a grammarian and a logician,
falthoagh miacquainted with the rules of art, [as exhibited in books and
systems.
*Alas! how light a cause may move
Dissension between hearts that love I
Hearts, [that the world in vain had tried,
TAnd sorrow bnt more dosely tied ;
nhat stood the storm, [when waves were rongh,
fTet in a sonny hour &11 off,—
[like ships that have gone down at sea
When heaven is all tranquillity 1
\*A something light as air.»~. \ a look \
A word I unkind-— or wrongly taken ;
>0h I love, f that tempests never shook, |
A breathy a touch like this, hath shaken.
Again (he hardy Britons rushed [like lions [to the fight.
The Assyrian came down [like the wolf on the fold.
Murder^ therefore, is (he most atrocious of all crimes [which affect individuals
only, [in the sight both of mankind, and of the person who has com>
mitted it.
While (^beholding this vast expanse, fl learn my own extreme meanness, 1
would also discover tlie abject littleness of all ten-estrial things.
""To die f^*to sleep ;
•7b deep f .^perchance ^to dream! ^Ay^ there'' s the rub\
*He tooJb^— f to hear his sentries shriek
" *To armsf^-Uhey come t'^* the Greek! — tJie Greek P*
He woke-^^to die.
•5b knelt she [in her woe ;
*A weeper [^alone with the tearless dead !
'OA, they reck not of tears o^er then* quiet shed,
^Or (he dust had stirred below !
*His children ^But here my heart began to bleed, 'and I was forced to
go on with another part of the portrait.
^He started t t^mid the battlers yell,
*He saw the Persian rushing on ;
He saw fthe flames around him swell,—
* Thou Wt ashes ! King of Babylon !
296 FORCE, TIME, &c.
FORCE, TIME, AND EXPRESSION.
The same principle which dictates variety of Modulation requires
also a corresponding variety in the Force and Time of utterance.
No unvarying uniformity of manner, in any particulsu* of delivery,
can be effective ; for it is unnatural.
We do not enlarge upon the rationale of Force atid Time, as
the reasons for modifications of these qualities must lie chiefly in
the reader's sympathetic appreciation of sentiment, situation, &c.
We shall content ourselves with furnishing a simple notation for
the greater changes of Force and Time, and illustrating their
application in a few marked passages.
We assume as middle points those degrees of Force and of Time
which are used in unimpassioned conversation ; which we call
moderate, and mark m. Two degrees of slower and of quicker
Time, and of stronger and feebler Force, we call slow and ada-
gio, quick and rapid, energetic and vehement, feehle and piano ;
and mark e, v. f. p ; s, a, q. r.
In addition to these, which may be employed as accidental
marks, it will be useful to have a more general notation for a
gradual or climactic increase or diminution of Force, and acceler-
ation or retardation of Time. For this purpose, we adopt the
marks cres, dim, ac, ret.
There are other varieties of Expression which, as they funda-
mentally affect the quality of the voice, or the mode of utterance,
must be noticed and included in our notation. These are Whisper,
marked CTTA.^ Hoarseness, (H.) Falsetto,(Fals,) Orotund, (Or.)
Plaintiveness, (PI J Tremor, ( Tr. ) Prolongation, ( Pr, ) Effect
of Distance, (Dist,) Effect of Strong Effort, or Straining, (Str.)
Staccato, (St) Sostenuto, (Sst) Sympathetic, ( Sym.) Imita-
tive, (Im.) Sudden Break, (- - -) Eocpresssive Pause, (O)
The Whisper is used to express secrecy and cunning ; it denotes also ap-
prehension of evil, or fearful suspense in presence of danger. Hoarseness,
or an aspirated vocality, is employed to express horror, loathing, agony, and
despair. The Falsetto voice is expressive of puerility or senility ; it denotes
also acute anguish, or an overpowermgly mui;hful feeling. The Orotund, a
deep,;mellow quality of voice, is, appropriate for expressions of pomp, sublimity,
and vastness — also for those of bombast and self importance. Plaintiveness
is produced by employment of the semitonic interval of inflexion, (see page 267.)
EXPRESSION. 297
It is expressive of sufferiDg — but not without hope ; of sympathy in suftering,
of fond desire, of supplication, and earnest entreaty, and also of mild reproach.
Tremor, or an unsteady, tremulous formation of voice, is expressive of anxiety,
alarm, eagerness, and intense emotion. When the intervals of the tremulous
movement are not chromatic or plaintive, but diatonic, the tremor is expressive
of self-gratulation, exultation, boasting, triumph : — it is then, in other words,
chuckling^ by which term we designate this vocal effect in its strongly joyful ap-
plications. Prolongation of voice, or of articulative effort, is often most ex-
pressive, but so variously that its precise effect cannot be briefly denoted — ^it is fre-
quently employed in scorn, dei*ision, malignity, &c., but it is also bj^ien used to
convey the very opposite sentiments — ^it is an intensive effect, applicable to many
passions. The Effect of Distance differs from low modulation and feeble
force — ^it is a " ventriloquial" effect, but one within the compass of any voice.
The Effect of Strong Effort differs from any of the qualities of Force and Modu-
lation, being a sort of subdued Straining, chiefly on the articulations — :which
are thus rendered more explosive than usual ; it is not loud, though expressive
of loudness. The Staccato movement consists in a strongly pointed, abrupt,
aud frequent accentuation, and is expressive of recrimination, reproach, and
all acrimonious sentiments ; and also of any marked sentential emphasis. The
Sostenuto movement consists in a smooth, flowing, equable accentuation,
and is expressive of admiration, tenderness, love, and pleasing sentiments
generally. The occasions for a strictly Imitative tone must always be obvious,
and the effects of the imitation will, of course, be as various as its objects : —
but there is a certain sympathetic suiting of the sound to the sense employed by
the effective reader in almost every paragraph of descriptive language, which,
though not strictly imitative, may yet be called analogously so. Thus, in describ-
ing cheerful or gay objects, the voice wiQ leap from pitdi to pitch in its inflexions
with a buoyancy of effect that aptly analogizes the bounding pulse and buoyant
spirits of cheerfulness ; in depictmg gloomy, solemn, or sad objects, the mflexions
will be low and limited, and the march of accentuation slow and equable. In
speakmg of the roaring or the whistling wind, the booming shot, the crashing
and rolling thunder, the sweep of the hurricane, the heaving and splashing of
waters, the glowing, crackling fire, &c., the articulation of the words may be
made highly iUustrative of the objects by this sort of imitative effect. Indeed,
the articulative consjiruction of the most expressive words is often strikingly
imitative of the objects they denote, so that the words bear well, and seem to
require this illustrative effect by the voice. We shall use the notation Sym,
(Sympathetic^ where mental emotion is to be expressed, and Im, (^Imitative,)
where physical properties, — sound, motion, &c. are concerned. The Sudden
Break in utterance may be demanded by a rhetorical break occurring in the
composition, or it may be simulatively introduced by the reader for some purpose
of effect. The Expressive Pause is reflective or monitory, conveying the
effect of meditation, deliberation, &c.-, or of preparation for important emphasis ;
it also denotes listening, and is highly effective in representations of terror, of
anxious watchfulness, &c.
pp
299 £XPR£i>S10N.
Without attempting to include in our notation the Passions
generally, — for their yarietj of shading and admixture would
render an accurate notation of them far too complex to be of
service, — there are a few other qualities of Expression, which, as
thej have peculiar functional manifestations, we must add to our
system of Expressive notation. These are Laughter^ C^') ^^^
Weeping^ (W.) and their more subdued forms. Chuckling, (Ch,)
and Sobbing, (Sob.) to which we may add Jby, (Joy,) and
Sadnessy (Sad,) Panting BespiroHon, (Besp,) Audible Inspira-
tion, (Insp.) Audible Bappiration, (Ejb, and Exp,)
Open Laughter and Wbsping come seldom or never within the scope of
reading, tboogfa acting and gestictdated recitation must occasionally employ
them : we need not point ont the sitoadons in which they would be appro-
priate. A Chuckukg effect is expressive of vulgar self-satb&ction, and
boasting : in a modified degree, it may be generally used in the utterance of
an triumphal or gratnlatory sentiments ; for these we shall use the notation
Joy, This sort of effect, with waving tones, is used in sneer, ridicule, and
sarcasm. A Sobbing effsct may be quite admissible in expressive reading :
the degree in which it is employed^ and the occasions for its employment, will
greatly depend upon the temperament of the reader. The notation Sad. (Sadness)
will express the more modified degrees of grief. Ordinary respiration should
be sUent, equable, and almost imperceptible : pertuibation and mental suffering,
nervous excitement, flurry, exhaustion, &c., may be expressed by convulsed,
heaving, or Panting Respiration. An Audible, gasping, or s^ni-vocal
Inspiration is wildly expressive of despair, and generally of mental or bodfly
agony. Audible Expirations also may be occasionally used for emotional
expressiveness ; if slowly accompanying the utterance (noted Ex,^ they produce
the effect of sighing, and ^^ suit the action to the word'' of sadness ; if sud-
denly gushing out with the accented syllable or word, (noted Exp,) they have
the effect of denoting intensity of the feeling in the passage, whether of joy
or sorrow.*
* The functions of Laughter and Crying'-'-JSA the ingenious and deeply-
observaoit author of the ^^ Philosophy of the Human Yoioe^" remarks — are
organically the same : their different effects arising fix>m the chromatic inter-
vsds of the aspirations of sorrow, and the diatonic intervals of those of joy.
This accounts for the tears of laughter^ and for the common and notable
phenomenon of children crying and laughing '^ in the same breath. *'
EXERCISES, 299
RECAPITULATIVE TABLE OF THE MARKS EMPLOYED IN THE
NOTATION OF INFLEXION, MODULATION, FORCE, TIME,
AND EXPRESSION.
Inflbxiont— -
Refer to tiagea
26$ m^ 269.
<
Simple.
r~ —
Rite.
Middle ^ .^
Tone. •^ ••^
Pall.
f
Rise.
CompouDd.
^
Fall.
«-/n .*./-*
MODULATION-
RefertoMff88
288 and 290.
-Hi^ Key.
—Higher.
—Conversational.
—Lower.
—Low Key.
PROGRESSIVE ELEVATION is denoted by
this mark ([) before the Modulative
number: Thus— f3, r2, \4, Ac.
Progressive depression is denoted by
this mark ([) before the Modulative
4
3
2
number : T^oa— 1^» L^t L^> ^•
Elevate Subordinate clause or sentence marked f
L
I
<<
((
(•
Depress
[^Mark of Separation between clauses.
<i
FORCB —
Refer to page
Time—
Refer to page
296.
Progressive Increase of Force,
marked Ores. (Crescendo) or ^
Progressive Diminution of Force,
marked Dim. (Diminuendo) or »
f V. — vehement.
e. — energetic,
m. — ^moderate.
/. — feeble.
p. — piano.
r. — ^rapid. Progressive Acceleration of Time^
q, — quick. marked Ac.
m. — ^moderate. Progressive Retardation of Time,
s. — ^slow. marked Ret.
a. — adagio.
I
Expression
Refer to pages
296"- 29ol
f W^.-Whisper.
H, — Hoarseness.
l^afe.^Falsetto.
Or. — Orotund.
PL — Plaintive.
TV.— Tremor.
— " Pr. — ^Prolongation.
Sudden Break - -
L. — Laughter.
C%.— Chucklhig.
J. — Joy.
W. — ^Weeping.
»Si)6.-Sobbing.
Dist. — ^Effect of Distance.
Str. — Straining, or Effect
of Strong Effort.
St. — Staccato.
Sst. — Sostenuto.
5ym. — Sympathetic.
Im. — Imitative.
Expressive Pause ^
Sad. — Sadness.
Resp. — Panting Respiration.
Insp. — Audible Inspiration.
Ex. \ Sighing CAudible.
JSxpS Sudden (Expiration.
EXPRESSIVE EXERCISES.
In the following passages, a very minute notation is attempted,
to assist the student in cultivating a varied and effective delivery.
The difficulty of working with types has, however, been fully felt.
In the first few pages the notation is chiefly confined to Inflexion
and Modulation : in the subsequent passages the other Expressive
marks are more generally introduced. Our space forbids
lengthened illustrations, or very copious examples.
300 EXERCISES.
These Exercises will show the ineffective reader something of
the yarietj that is demanded by expressive delivery ; and they
will, we trast, encourage him to apply broadly and confidently,
in his ordinary practice, the principles which their notation ex-
emplifies. They are far from being overloaded with notation :
we can safely afl&rm that the voice must, in doing justice to the
delivery of such passages, make more than double the number of
changes — ^inflective, modulative, and expressive, — that are here
marked.
Industiy is the demand of natare, of reason, and of God.
Among the various blessings which we derive from art, are wealth, commerce,
•^^ ^p^ ^p^
honour, liberty, content.
GompUusance renders a snpenor amiable, an eqoal agreeable^ and an inferior
acceptable.
The astonishing mnltiplicity of created beings, the wonderfiil laws of natare,
the beantiM arrangement of the heavenly bodies, the elegance of the
vegetable world, the operations of animal life, and the amazing harmony
of the whole creation, loudly proclaim the wisdom of the Deity.
8»s -^ ^%^ ^ ^ •s ••^
Poverty wants some, luxury many, 'avarice all things.
Vapours are formed into clouds, dew, mist, rain^ snow, hail^ and other
meteors.
The colours in the rainbow are violet, indigo, blue, green^ yellow, orange^ red.
The earth is adorned with a beautiful vanety of mountains, hiUs, valUes,
plains, seas, lakes, rivers, trees, flowers, plants, and animals.
Human society requires distinctions of property^ diversity of conditions, sub-
ordinations of rank, and a multiplicity of occupations, [in order to advance the
general good.
No station is so high^ no power so great, no character so unblemished, as to
exempt men from the attacks of rashness, malice, and envy.
In the least insect there are muscles, nerves, joints, veins, arteries, and blood.
A moment^s thinking is an hour in words.
•>^
* •s •s
The cloud capp'd towers, the gorgeous palaces,
The solemn temples, ^the great globe itself,
EXERCISES. 301
Yea, all which it inherit, — shafl dissolve ;
And [like this unsubstantial pa^ant faded, |
Leave not a rack behind.
Nothing stiftes knowledge more than covering every thing with a doctor^s
robe ; and the men who would be for ever teaching are great hindrances^
to learning.
A felicitous image presented to the fancy, a gentle dealing with angry passions,
an avoidance of collisions with rooted prejudice, may, [without the
slightest violation of truth or moral rectitude^ | open the mind of an
assembly or a nation to receive fwith honest conviction | a system of
knowledge, [religions^ ethical^ or political^ which philosophic reasoning, or
nncompromising dogmatism, might have striven for ages to force upon
them, fand striven in vam.
The emotions pervade every operation of the mind, as the Hfe-blood circulates
through the body : within us and without, in the corporeal world and in the
_ %^^^
spiritual, in the past, the present, and the future, there is no object of thought
which they do not touch ; there are few, | very few | which they do not colour
and transmute.
Learning teaches youth temperance ; affords comfort to old age; gives nckes
to the poor ; and is an ornament to the rich.
While [beholding this vast expanse, | I learn my own extreme meanness, I
would also discover the abject littleness of all terrestrial things.
Error is generally sweetened with truth fto make men swallow it more readily.
For all the several gems in Virtue, Yice has counterfeit stones, [with which she
gulls the ignorant.
We sail the sea of Life— -a c^m one finds.
And one a tempest — and, [the voyage o V, |
Death is the quiet haven of us afl.
The passions are the gales of life ; and it b rehgion only that can prevent them
from rising into a tempest.
How mean that snuff of glory fortune lights
And death puts out !
a02 EXERCISES.
c^
A kind no \a often more agreeable than a rou^h yes.
The man who does not know how to meuiodize his thoughts, has always
[to borrow a phrase from the dispensary | a barren superfloity of words.
Above the earth, | around the sky |
There*s not a form, I or deep, or high, |
Where the Creator hath not trod,
[And left tiie foot-prints of a God.
4 ^
What a pieoe of work is man I how noble in reason ! how infinite iu facnlties !
in form and moving how express and admuable ! in action^ ^how hke
-r: 8 Or •- .^ -V '^
an angel I in apprehension, how like a God I
Eveiy passion has its proper pmse.
What eagles are we still
In matters that belong to other men !
2 Or .^
— ^What beedes in our own !
[Of Hi the causes which conspire to blind
Man's erring judgement, and misguide the mind, |
4 ••^ gv^ '^^
What the weak head with strongest bias rules,
Is Pride.
High on a throne of royal statCy fwhich rar
Outshone the wealth of Ormus or of Ind,
Or where the gorgeous East [with richest hand,
rShow'rs on her kmgs barbaric, pearl and gold,
Satan exalted sat.
* Ex PI 8
How doth the dty sit solitary fthat was full of people 1 how is she become a
widow I
4 ^
What sudden turns,
What strange vicisatudes in the first leaf
Of man's sad history ! to-day, most happy ;
And, [ere tomorrow's sun has set, I most abject !
How scant the space between these vast extremes (
EXERCISES. 303
Sure the last end
Of the good man is peace. How calm his exit !
Night-dews &11 not more gently to the gromid,
Nor weary worn-out winds expire so son.
He that would pass the latter part of his life with honour and decency, must,
[when he is young, | consider that he shall one day be da, and remember
[when he is old, | that he has once been young.
Sloth, riike rust, | consumes faster than nature wears. IMligence, i^like the
philosopher's stone, 1 turns every thmg to gdd.
[To a lover | the figures, the motions, the words of the beloved object, are not
[like other images | written in water, but [as Plutarch said | '^ enamelled
in £e," and made the study of midnight.
The sunniest things throw sternest shade^
And there is even a happiness
That makes the heart afraid.
Childhood.
The world of a child's imagination is the creation of a far holler spell than
hath been ever wrought [by the pride of learning, or the inspiration of poetic
iancy. Innocence that tliinketh no evil; ignorance that apprehendeth none;
hope that hath experienced no blight ; love that suspecteth no guile : these are
its nunisterin^ angels ! these wield a wand of power, making this earth a para-
dise ! — ^Time, hard, rigid teacher ! — Reality, rough, stem reality I — World, cold,
Ex j^ ^ ^'* a?
heartless world I that ever your sad experience, your sombre truths, your killing
2 ^ •s
cold, your withering success, could scare those gentle i^irits fix>m their holy
temple ! And wherewith do ye replace them ? With caution, [that repulses
confidence, | with doubt, [that repdleth love ^ | with reason, that dispelleth delu-
•^ -r •^ •^ 8 ^
sion ; with fear, fthat poisoneth enjoyment ; in a word, with knowledge, — that
fatal fruit, the tasting whereof, [at the first onset, I cost us paradise.
We are prone to look at our troubles Fthrough a magnifying glass, | and at our
mercies [through a diminishing one. Hence we are so miserable under
present distress, and so imgratefnl for past favours.
304 EXERCISES.
Though faith be above reatsoo, yet is there a reason to be given of our faith.
He 18 a fool that believes he neither knows what nor why.
There is ever a certain languor attending the fulness of prosperity. When
the heart has no more to wish, it yawns over its possesnons, and the energy of
the soul goes out, |_like a flame that has no more to devour.
' *^ *^ '•^ •^
An inevitable dualism bisects nature^ so that each thing is a half, and suggests
*^ . , ^ ^ ,T ^ ^^
another thing to make it whole ; as spirit, matter ; man, woman ; sub-
jective, objective ; in, out ; upper, under ; motion, rest ; yea, nay.
Beneath the foulest mother*s curse
No living thing can thrive ;
A mother is a mother still, —
The holiest thing alive.
3 m •^
Since trifles make the sum of human things,
[And half our misery from our foibles springs ;
rSince lifers best joys consist in peace and ease.
And [though but few can serve, yet all may please,
let the ungentle spuit learn from hence,
A small unkindness is a great onence ;
vam,
[To spread large bounties, fthough we wish m vair
Yet all may shun the guilt of giving pain.
It glads the eye it warms the soul
To gaze upon the rugged knoll,
[Where tangled brushwood twines across
The struggling brake, and sedgy moss.
Oh ! who would have the grain spring up
Where now we find the daisy's cup—
[Where clumps of dark red heather gleam
With beauty in the summer beam.
And yellow furze-bloom laughs to scorn
Your ripen'd hopes and bursting corn ?
God speed the plough ; but let us trace
EXERCISES. 305
Sometliing of nature^s infant face ;
Let us behold some spot fwhere man
Has not yet set his '^ bar and ban," |
Leave us some green wastes, [fresh and wild, |
For poor man^s beast, and poor man^s child.
Let it be the struggle of the rich man that he may possess his goods — ^not they
him.
Busmess sweetens pleasure^ as labour sweetens rest.
We are most sure in those points we have most doubted in.
A wise man knows his own ignorance : a fool thinks he knows everything.
Better suffer a great evil than do a small one.
The difference between a maaman and a fool is, that the former reasons justly
from false data, and the latter erroneously from just data.
Tis with our judgements as our watches ; — ^none
Go just alike^ yet each believes his own.
Mourn rather for the Living Dead,
Than for the seeming dead — fwho Live !
These need no tears [our grief can shed, |
•^ St Tr
But those O far more than we can give I
Men will wrangle for religion, write for it, fight for it, die for it — Lanything but
live for it.
Ministers should preach to their congregations, and not merely before them.
Knowledge and wisdom, [far from being one, |
Have ofl'tiraes no connexion. Knowledge dwells
In heads replete with thoughts of other men ;
Wisdom, in minds attentive to their own.
Knowledge — [a rude unprofitable mass
FThe mere materials with wliich wisdom builds,
[Till smoothed, and squared, and fitted to its place, |
Does but encumber whom it seems to enrich.
Qq
906 KXERCISES.
Knowledge is proud [that he hat learned so much ;
Wisdom is hnmble that he knows no more.
^ "^ ^-^ #s ••s €^ »K
The friend Tthat ligbtlj flatters | is an enemy ; the enemy [that justly re-
proves is a friend.
When people are determined to quarrel, a straw will furnish the occasion.
Of 8ir» your O honesty is remarkable.
Most courteous tyrants ! Romans ! rare patterns of humanity.
Pr *^ '.•^ Exp •^
Courageous i^vdi\ the first C^ in flight from pain !
There is a flower, a little flower^
[With silver crest and golden eye,
TThat welcomes every changing hour,
And weathers every sky.
On waste and woodland^ frock and plain^
Its humble buds unheeded rise ;
The rose has but a summer s reign,
The daisy '^ never dies.
Teh
feelings
of our common nature rise in rebellion against it.
Tell me not of rights — talk not of the property of the planter in his slaves :-
I deny the right, I acknowledge not the property. The principles, the feelin
They are wise and O honourable,
And will, fno doubt, | with reason answer you !
The hypocrite shows the excellence of virtue by the necessity he thinks himself
under of seeming to be virtuous.
The weather was so intensely hot that we saw only [what was to be admired —
we could not admire.
The marble peach feels cold and heavy^ and children only put it to their
mouths.
TO THE NIGHTINGALE.
3m 9S, .^^
Thou wast not bom for death, immortal bird !
No hungry generations tread thee down ;
£X£RCIS£S. 307
2e
The voice I hear | thu passing night, | was heard
In ancient days, Fby emperor and down :
^S.Bet •^
Perhaps the self-same song^ [that found a path
Sym •^ ^^
Through the sad heart of Ruth, | when, fsick for homc^ |
She stood in tears amid the alien corn ;
The same | that oft-times hath
CharmM magic casements, | opening on the foam
Of perilous seas, in fairy lands forlorn.
4 Pr 2/ •^ ^ •^
*' Forlorn !" — ^The very soimd is like a bell
••^ Ex •^
FTo toll me back fix)m thee to my sole self !
Adieu ! — The fancy cannot cheat so well
As she is fam^d to do, i deceiving elf.
l2 •^ \}f ^
Adieu ! adieu ! '^ Thy plaintive anthem fades ^ —
[2 Im ^
Past the near meadows, ^ over the still stream, ^
Up the hill-side ; '^ and now, '^ 'tis buried deep
In the next valley's glades : —
3 ^^
Was it a vision, or a waking dream ?
- - - Fled is that music ! — ^Do I wake or sleep ?
From their foundations loos'niug too and fro,
They plucked the seated hills — fwith all their load,
Str
Rocks, waters, woods ; and Lby the shaggy tops
Uplifting, I bore them in their hands.
4 .^^ ^^ 3 /m
That strain again ; — it had a dying fall ;
! it came o'er my ear ^ like the sweet south.
That breathes upon a bank of violets.
Stealing, and giving odour !
2 ^
The bright sun was extinguished ; and the stars
Did wander | darkling [in the eternal space, '
Raylcss and Pathless ; and the icy earth
Swung blind and blackening, in the moonless air.
30H EXERCISES.
'' Base as thou art folse''— '' No!"
" Art thou not"— 4«* ^hat ?''— " a traitor V"
Think yon a little din can daunt mine ears?
Have I not in my time heard lions roar ?
Uave I not heard the sea, [^puffed up with winds,
# Pr a
Rage l^like an angry boar?
Have I not heard great ordnance [in the field,
•••s Pr
And heavens' artillery thonder [in the skies ?
Have I not, Tin a pitched battle | heard
Loud 'laroms, neighing steeds, and trumpets* clang ?
2eh9i
And do you tell me of a woman's tongue —
TThat gives not half so great a blow to the ear,
As will a chesnut in a farmer's fire ?
See yonder hallowed fane ! the pious work
Of names once famed, now dubious | or forgot^
And buried midst the wreck of things which were ; —
There lie interred the more illustrious dead.
2S Im 1/.
The wind is up : O hark ! how it howls ! Methiuks
Till now I never heard a sound so dreary ;
Doors creak, and windows dap, and night's foul bird.
Rooked in the spire, screams loud ; ^^ the gloomy aisles
[Black plastered, and hung round with shreds of scutcheons
And tattered coats of arms, | send back the sound,
Laden with lieavier airs, from the low vaults,
The mansions of the dead.
Again ! the screech-owl shrieks : [ungracious sound !
4 ^ ITrSt ^ •^
rU hear no more ; it makes one's blood run chUl.
Ye living flowers fthat skirt the eternal frost !
Ye wild goats fsporting round the eagle's nest !
^ ^ Or
Ye eagles, [playmates of the mountain stoiin !
r4 ^
Ye lightnings, [the dread arrows of the clouds !
EXERCISES. 309
Ye signs and wonders of the elements !
Utter forth o God ! and fill the WUs with praise !
SeSad Pr Tr.
I tell thee Culloden^s dread echoes shall ring
With the blood-hounds that bark for thy fugitive king !
9
Lo ! [anointed by heaven with vials of wrath |
4
Behold where he flies on his desolate path !
Now, I in darkness and billows | he sweeps from my sight :
Rise ! rise ! ye wild tempests and cover his flight !
1 2 Pr
'^ Tis finished. Their thunders are hu^^ed on the moors :
a.sod
Culloden is lost and my country deplores !
3 tn
But where is the iron-bound prisoner ?/^ where ?
For the red-eye of battle is shut [in despair.
Say mounts he the ocean wave, banished^ forlorn^
(Like a limb | from his country | cast | bleeding and torn ?
in 9
Ah no ! for a darker departure is near ;
12 S
The war-drum is muffled | and black is the bier ;
fFh A a PI "^
His death-bell is tolling ! on mercy ! dispel
Tr Ex
Yon sight [that it freezes my spirit to tell !
There were no mock mourners [in the trappings of affected woe, — but there
was one real mourner | who feebly tottered after the corpse. It was ^ the
aged mother of the deceased.
4m 9
Up with my tent ! Here will I lie to-night ;
1 * 3/. Ex ^
But where to-morrow ? Well, no matter where.
2 Tr 4 Dist
Methought I heard a voice cry, *' Sleep no more !
Macbeth does murder sleep — the innocent sleep —
TO ^^
Sleep, rthat knits up the ravellM sleave of care —
FThe death of each day's life — fsore labour's bath —
TBalm of hurt minds— fgreat nature's second course —
rChief nourisher in life's feast"
2 » Dist
Still it cried — " Sleep no more !" [to all the house ;
310 liJL£RCIS£S.
*"" GUmmu (tMih monkr^d sleep, aud therefore Cawilor
5. St./ Tr
Shall deep no moie — ^Macbeth shall sleep no more."
J B. Tr
Etemitj ! thoa pleasing, dreadfid thought !
When the poor victmis were bavonetted, [cfinging round the knees of the
soldierB ! | would mj friend bat I cannot pursue the strain of interro-
gation !
y PL S. UTr.
** 1 have sorely wept for thee — ay ! William, when there was none near me —
15 < hup > 2
even as David wept (or Absalom — for thee, my son ! my son !'* — A long, deep
groan was the only reply.
Oh, banish me, my lord, but kill me not ?
I prythee, daughter, du not make me mad !
3 »p. Tr •^
I will not trouble thee ! my child, farewell !
We^ no more meet, no more see one another !
Esp ^ ^
But yet thou art my flesh, my blood, my daughter,
4 Q.e. .^^
Or, rather, a disease that^s in my flesh —
Which I must, ncNids, call mine I thou art O a boil —
A plague-sore — an embossed carbuncle,
l^ln my oonrupted blood But Til not chide thee ;
»t
Let shame oome when it will, I do not call it ;
Or St
I do not bid the thunder-bearer strike,
Nor tell tales of thee to high-judging Jove :
Meud, when thou canst ; be better — [at thy leisure !
What man dare, I dare.
Approach thou like the rugged Russian bear.
The arm'd rhinocerous, or the Hyrcan tiger ;
4 .^ ^ is Or •^
Take any 8ha]>c | but that, and my firm nerves
Shall never tremble ; or be alive again,
St
And dare me to the desert with thy sword ;
f4»
If trembling I inhibit thee, protest mc
5 STr
The baby of a girl ! Hence I horrible shadow !
[4 5
Unreal I mockery ! hence I hence !
EXERCISES. 311
I live with bread like you ; feel want, taste grief,
TV ^ •^ •^ •^
Need friends : i subjected thus, I
How can yon say to me I am a king ?
ril call thee, Hamlet !
King I Father ! Royal Dane ! oh I answer me !
Yon see me here, ye Gods, a poor||old man,
As full of grief as age, wretched in both I
You think I'll weep ; no, Til not weep : —
2 e Exp 4 e
I have full cause of weeping ; but this heart
Shall burst into a hundred thousand flaws,
. .^ Fob 2 Exj^
Or ere I'll weep — Gods, I shall go mad !
3 Sad
I had a piece of rich sweet pudding on my fork, when Miss Lousia Friendly
Tr g
begged to trouble me for part of a pigeon that stood near me. In my haste
4 r ^sp
[scarce knowing what I did, | I whipped the pudding into my mouth — ^hot as a
burning coal I it was impossible to conceal my agony ; my eyes were starting
2 5 Tr Exp
from then* sockets I at last, fin spite of shame and resolution, | I was obliged
Exp Ex
to ^ drop ^ the cause of my torment on my plate.
CARD.
The Author receiveB Pnpils and Boarders for the Erai>ication of
Stammering and all Impediments of Speech ; and gives Private
Instructions in Articulation and Delivery, adapted to all departments
of Pablic Speaking.
Prospectuses, Cards of Terms, &c. maj be obtained on application at
13 Hope Street, Charlotte Square, Edinburgh.
The following Establishments for Elocution and for the Removal of Impediments
of Speech, are conducted by the Author^s Father and Brother : —
In London — ^30 Old Bond Street — hj Mr Bell, Sen.
" Dublin— 33 Lower Abbey Street— by Mr D. C. Bell.
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